>  From Cook's Illustrated  ~  By Bridget Lancaster  <

During the hot summer months, the margarita all but replaces the martini as America's favorite cocktail. Indeed, our obsession with margaritas has helped make the United States the world's leading consumer of tequila. Unfortunately, the typical margarita tends to be a slushy, headache-inducing concoction made with little more than ice, tequila, and artificially flavored corn syrup. At their best, though, margaritas are the perfect balance of tequila, orange liqueur, and fresh lime juice, shaken briskly with crushed ice and served on the rocks (with salt if preferred). I wanted to see if I could produce this ideal cocktail, balancing the distinctive flavor of tequila with a hint of orange and a bright burst of citrus.

As tequila is a margarita's most important ingredient, I started the testing there. I made margaritas with all types of tequila, using both super-premium 100 percent blue agave (agave is the plant from which tequila is distilled) as well as mixed tequilas, to which cane or corn syrup is often added.

Two types of tequila known as silver (or white) and gold, are not aged; their young alcoholic flavor gave the margarita a raw, harsh flavor. Margaritas made with the prized aged and very aged tequilas were extremely smooth, but their distinct tannic taste, produced as they age up to six years in oak casks, dominated the cocktail. Reposado or "rested" tequila, made from 100 percent blue agave and aged for 12 months or less, was the favorite. Its slightly mellow flavor blended perfectly with the other ingredients.

Next I tested orange-flavored liqueurs. Both Grand Marnier and Cointreau were delicious, but many tasters thought their robust flavor too pronounced and "boozy" for a margarita. Triple Sec, an orange liqueur with a lower alcohol content, made a more delicate contribution.

Finally, the citrus juice. Margaritas are traditionally made with fresh-squeezed lime juice, but some tasters thought the flavor too acidic. Those made with only lemon juice ended up tasting a little too much like lemonade. An equal mixture of both lime and lemon juice produced a margarita that was very refreshing, but too mild. So I turned to the method Cook's had used to make fresh lemonade (see "First-Rate Lemonade," July/August 1998). For that recipe, we found that mashing thinly sliced lemons extracted their full flavor. While this technique greatly boosted the citrus flavor in the margaritas, the oil from the white pith was too bitter, giving the drink a medicinal flavor. Steeping just the zest of the lime and lemon in their juices for 24 hours deepened the citrus flavor without adding any bitterness. Adding sugar to the steeping mixture countered any remaining harshness from the citrus.

In testing the proportions of the three main ingredients, I found that my tasters favored an equal portion of each, quite different from the tequila-heavy concoctions I had consumed in the past. My last test was to try the margarita in a salt-rimmed glass. This was clearly a question of individual taste. So salt the glass or not, as you and your guests prefer.

The longer the zest and juice mixture is allowed to steep, the more developed the citrus flavors in the finished margaritas. We recommend steeping for the full 24 hours, although the margaritas will still be great if the mixture is steeped only for the minimum 4 hours. If you're in a rush and need to serve margaritas immediately, omit the zest and skip the steeping process altogether.

4 teaspoons grated zest plus 1/2 cup juice from

2 to 3 medium limes.

4 teaspoons grated zest plus 1/2 cup juice from

2 to 3 medium lemons.

1/4 cup superfine sugar.                                                

Pinch salt.

2 cups crushed ice.

1 cup 100 percent agave tequila, preferably reposado.

1 cup Triple Sec.

1. Combine lime zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, sugar, and salt in large liquid measuring cup; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until flavors meld, 4 to 24 hours.

2. Divide 1 cup crushed ice between 4 or 6 margarita or double old-fashioned glasses. Strain juice mixture into 1-quart pitcher or cocktail shaker. Add tequila, Triple Sec, and remaining crushed ice; stir or shake until thoroughly combined and chilled, 20 to 60 seconds. Strain into ice-filled glasses: serve immediately.