Ask A Chicago Bartender: Your Best Tequila Cocktail

Tequila is more than something you throw back in mass quantities after a break-up to induce relationship amnesia. There are differences, subtle and overt, among Blanco tequilas, Reposado tequilas, Añejo tequilas and Extra Añejo tequilas. The sturdy spirit is so popular that even celebrities are jumping on the tequila cart. Justin Timberlake now lends his name to Sauza 901, a super-premium tequila; legendary guitarist, Carlos Santana, co-owns Casa Noble, an amber-hued añejo; and then there's George Clooney's Casamigos tequila.

Adam Weber
Beverage Manager
Bar Takito
201 N. Morgan St.
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 888-9485
www.bartakito.com

Adam Weber, beverage manager at Bar Takito, joined the team in Wicker Park when it opened in 2013. You can say that he has sliced more than a few limes around town. Prior to Takito gigs, he tended bar at Trencherman and Mercadito as well as Roka Akor. Weber is passionate about pushing the envelope towards the end of the bar in his culinary approach to cocktails. These will pair wonderfully whether you're enjoying a coffee-braised beef taco ala Bar Takitio or your own creations of any ethnic persuasion. Weber first lets us in on his go-to signature tequila cocktail and then shows us how to wow friends with two other interesting takes on tequila.

Caliente Margarita
Ingredients

1 bar spoon blend (spiced blend of different dried peppers, cinnamon, allspice and coriander)
1 ounce lime juice
½ ounce Cointreau
¾ ounce of agave nectar
1 ½ ounces of Corazon Blanco tequila

Combine all ingredients and shake. Serve on the rocks with salt rim.

Related: Best Frozen Drinks In Chicago

Let's Dance
Before you begin you'll need:

Glass bottle for lime juice
Glass bottle for agave syrup
Glass bottle for cantaloupe juice
Glassware: 5 oz footed rocks

Prep Involved:
Lime juice
Agave Syrup
Cantaloupe juice
Tequila infusion

In a shaker, combine:

2 dashes of Jamaican #2
½ oz of lemon juice
½ oz of agave syrup
2 oz of cantaloupe juice
1½ oz of coriander infused Milagro

Shake and double strain into a chilled cup. Garnish with a cilantro leaf

Note: Jamaican #2 is a type of bitters by Bittercub

Milky Guey
Before you begin you'll need:

Empty bottle for lemon juice
Empty bottle for brown sugar
Squeeze bottle for egg white
Glassware: 8 oz chilled coup glass

Prep involved:

Lemon juice
Brown sugar syrup
Egg white

In a shaker, combine:

5 drops of Hellfire Habanero shrub
¾ oz of lemon juice
¾ oz of brown sugar syrup
1 oz of egg white
½ oz of zucca
½ oz of Ancho Reyes
1½ oz of Cabeza

Dry shake hard for 10 seconds. Add ice and cold shake and strain. Top with Fee Aztec chocolate bitters.

Related: Best Bistros In Chicago

Jacky Runice has been a columnist with the Daily Herald Chicago since grunge music and flannel was the new black. Her fingers and gray matter have been busy as travel editor of Reunions Magazine; penning a column that was syndicated around the nation via Tribune Media Services. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.