If you are going to be serving friends Margaritas outside this hot weekend, then you might consider offering the Matador as an option. It is similar to a Margarita, but is a little more fruity and sweet tasting – which actually makes it a bit better for those Late July deck and pool parties!

Now, there are a number of ways of making a Matador. Some recipes call for the use of RedBull in place of the Pineapple Juice that is used in the classic version. If you are looking for an extra jolt of caffeine then you might try that. You can also make them frozen (blended) or on the rocks.

One thing all the versions share is that they are tangy, sweet, and perfect for a hot day.

So for your viewing pleasure, we are including three versions of the Matador today. Try one, try ‘em all!

Classic Matador

• 1 1/2 oz Tequila (mid-grade “Gold” is fine)
• 1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
• 1/2 oz Lime Juice
• 1 tsp Simple Syrup

Directions:
Shake it in a Cocktail Shaker with ice, Strain into a salt-rimmed cocktail glass.

Modern Matador

• 1 oz Tequila (mid-grade, again)
• 1/2 oz Triple Sec
• 1 oz RedBull
• 1/2 oz Lime Juice

Directions:
Shake it in a Cocktail Shaker with ice, Strain into a salt-rimmed cocktail glass.

Frozen Matador

• 2 oz Tequila
• 1/4 oz Triple Sec
• 1/4 cup Pineapple Chunks
• 1/2 oz Lime Juice
• 1/2 cup ice

Directions
Combine these ingredients in a blender until smooth. Serve this one in a highball or Collins glass

Layered drinks always make things fun. They add visual interest, and they give an extra dimension to your drinks. Ideally, as you drink them, the drink should change from one extreme to another; tangy to sweet, or spicy to mild. That kind of thing.

The Loco Lemonade is an easy and fun drink you can make that gives the extra visual and taste appeal of a layered drink. Just as with a Tequila sunrise, the drink starts off tart, and gets sweeter toward the end. Because it is made with lemonade, however, it is much more tart than a Tequila Sunrise. But it is still great on a hot sunny day!

For this drink I used pink lemonade, but you can use whatever you have laying around. The pink lemonade, in combination with the Grenadine made the drink a little more red.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 1/2 oz Tequila
• 4 oz Lemonade
• 1/2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 oz Grenadine Syrup

Instructions:

Pour the ingredients into your glass (2/3 filled with ice) in this order: Tequila, grenadine, lemonade, lemon juice. If you do it carefully, the layers will make a cloudy, swirling effect.

Remember there are more cocktail recipes at www.drunkmansguide.com

A few weeks ago we did a feature on the Tequila Sunrise. That was a fun article because the drink has these three great layers. The drink starts off sour with the lemon juice on top, then it becomes tangy with the orange juice, and then sweet and fruity with the Grenadine. Yum!

But there is one great way to improve the Tequila Sunrise; in fact, this can improve many of your mixed drinks. You can make your own Grenadine.

Real Grenadine is made from Pomegranates, but the stuff you buy in a bottle at the liquor store doesn’t have any pomegranate juice in it – which is why it isn’t nearly as good as homemade. Also, as with everything else, when you make your own, you can control the flavor. And in the case of making Grenadine, that means really pumping up the pomegranate flavor.

Here’s how to make it:

• 4 cups of Pomegranate Juice (you can find it on the juice aisle at your grocery store)
• ½ cup of Sugar
• 2 tbsp Lemon Juice

Stir all the ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a boil for about 45 - 55 minutes. You’ll want to test the consistency to make sure it doesn’t get too thick. Here’s how:

As you approach 45 minutes, use a spoon to get a little bit of the grenadine out. You only need a couple teaspoons to do the test. Put it on a plate and let it cool for a minute or so.

Once it is cool to room temperature, tip the plate and watch what it does. It should leave a nice coat of syrup as it easily slides down the plate. If it just sits there in a pile of purple goo, then it is way too thick. If it runs like water, then it’s still too thin.

A great comparison is to just use a little bit of the bottled Grenadine to see how the correct consistency looks. Although the bottled stuff doesn’t taste so great, it is the correct consistency.

The reason you need to get the consistency correct is that if the syrup is too thick then it will just pool at the bottom of all your drinks. Instead you want it to float on the bottom like a cloud.

You will notice that homemade grenadine is dark purple in color. It isn’t red like the junk in the bottle. It also tastes amazing!

Oh, and the other great way to improve your Tequila Sunrise is to squeeze your own orange and lemon juices. Simply outstanding.

There are over 9,000 Mixed Drinks and Cocktail Recipes at the Drunk Man’s Guide

Maybe it’s because Spring is in the air. Maybe I’m just low on Vitamin C, but I have to admit I’ve been drinking these all week
The Orange Juice and Pommegranet flavor in the Grenadine goes well with the silky smoothness of the Tequila. A little squirt of lime juice really finishes the drink off nicely.

Here’s how I make mine:

• 1 1/2 oz Tequila
• 3 oz Orange Juice
• Splash of Grenadine
• 1 slice of lime

Directions:
Combine first three ingredients in a rocks or highball glass with ice. Squeeze the lime slice over the drink and then drop it in. Stir gently. Enjoy.

More Mixed Drink Recipes

With spring around the corner, we are going to start adding drinks that you will enjoy as the weather starts to warm up. That means more fruity and sour drinks, and fewer of the creamy deserty type that we normally associate with winter and the holidays.

The first of these is a classic family of drinks called the Collins. The most famous Collins drink is the Tom Collins, but there are many variations. So if you happen to be fresh out of Gin, don’t worry, you can probably still make a Colonel Collins!

Visit the How to Make a Collins Drink page to learn how to make the following drinks:

• Tom Collins
• John Collins
• Ron Collins
• Tex Collins

When we talk about chasers, we usually are talking about taking a shot and then “chasing” it with a beer. However some people do it the opposite way, they chug a beer and chase it with a shot. Many recipes also call for dropping a shot of liquor into a beer, or layering the liquor with the beer.

Check out our Chasers page for a five great recipes that combine beer and liquor.

Have you ever wanted to know how different kinds of liquor are made? Or, what’s the difference between different kinds of Tequila?

We’ve put together a page on Drunkmansguide.com that will lay it all out. There’s even pretty pictures that we swiped off the internet for you to look at
You can access the new page here: How Liquor is Made

Step 1

Stocking your bar usually starts off with having a short conversation with yourself.

You can do it the way we do it; talking out loud while sitting at the back of the bus. Or you can do it silently by yourself. Whatever.

During this conversation, decide what drinks you like the most and make sure you always have the stuff to make them on hand. IOW, if your name is Jeffrey Lebowski, then all you need is some cream, a bottle of cheap Vodka, and some Kahlua.

Step 2

Put together the basic components of most other drinks. This will usually require a little more money, and you might want to build it up over time. Here is a short list of the staples most any bar includes:

Liquors and Spirits

• Gin
• Vodka
• Tequila (White and Dark)
• Rum (Light and Dark)
• Vermouth (Extra Dry and Sweet)
• Whiskey
• Scotch
• Brandy/Cognac
• Beer

Fillers, Liqueurs, and Flavoring Agents

• Triple Sec
• Grenadine
• Bitters
• Cream
• Sugar
• Lemon Juice
• Lime Juice
• Orange Juice
• Various Sodas (Cola, Club Soda, and Lemon Lime at least)

If you buy “good” liquor (that’s the stuff on the middle shelf), then properly stocking your bar will probably cost you about $350.

If $350 is looking like it’s too similar to your week’s pay, then look for your liquor on the bottom shelf – that will bring your cost down to under $200.

If $350 is looking more like an hour’s worth of pay, then you can probably look for your liquor on the top shelf.