“Most people are used to the “on again- off again” way of life. Healthy Living, however is a lifestyle. You don’t have to avoid certain holidays because you are adapting a more healthy lifestyle, you just have to know how to make a few modifications. ” says Donna DeCunzo-Taddeo RD, LD and President of Voodoo Tiki Tequila. “When you look at the premise behind Voodoo Tiki Tequila-it is about living life to the fullest and having fun. ”

Hmmm… so you can have your Margarita and drink it too! 

Here are some tips to better enjoy Cinco de Mayo without feeling guilty on Monday morning as you do the walk of shame toward the scale.

1. Make sure you are well hydrated during the day before going out for cocktails. This prevents the occasional headache you may get from being dehydrated. (As for the headache you get from drinking lousy liquor, all the water in the world will not stop that.  To avoid that, stop drinking low quality liquors found in “wells” and most “drink specials.”)
2. Alternate alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks to reduce calories-consume still or sparkling water with a slice of lime in between cocktails.
3. Choose wine, light beer, or simple cocktails made with low-calorie mixers. Just as you might order your salad with dressing on the side, don’t be shy about asking for your cocktail your way.
4. Be calorie savvy:  The number of calories in mixed drinks depends on not only its ingredients but also on size of the drink. The average serving size of wine and alcoholic beverages is probably smaller than you think. Most glasses of wine contain 125-150 calories, but that can double depending on the size of the glass size.  Beer  ranges from 64-198 calories per 12 ounces.

The standard calorie content for  tequila is as follows:

• 80-proof  (40% alcohol; the most common type) has 64 calories per 1oz
• 86-proof  (43% alcohol) has 70 calories/1 oz
• 90-proof  (45% alcohol) has 73 calories/1 oz
• 100-proof (50% alcohol) has 82 calories/1 oz
• A 6-ounce serving of orange juice has 84 calories

5. Ask your bartender for these or make these at home:

Platinum Mar-Tiki ®

Muddle 1/2 orange and 1/2 line with rind in shaker glass

Add ice

Pour 2 oz Voodoo Tiki Platinum Tequila

Splenda simple syrup (to taste)

Shake; Serve: Up  (Martini glass)

(120 calories)

Tikipolitan

1.5 oz Voodoo Tiki Platinum or Voodoo Tiki Tequila-Desert Rose

1/2 oz juice of Fresh Blood Orange

1.5 oz  Diet Cranberry Juice

1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice over ice

Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass.

(110 calories)

Tiki Beer-A Rita

Homemade lime syrup (recipe below)

4oz Voodoo Tiki Reposado Tequila

Zest limes, Then in a large saucepan, combine water, stevia and lime zest and heat until  stevia completely dissolved.  Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature.  Stir in lime juice and freeze until ready to use.

180 calories

If the fresh lime juice tang of the classic Margarita makes you pucker, you’ll enjoy this sweeter take on the tequila classic.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounces Voodoo Tiki Platinum Tequila
1/2 ounce light agave nectar
1 ounce blood orange juice
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

Directions:
Add all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake hard for 10-15 seconds to break the ice.  Strain into a martini glass or serve on the rocks.  garnish with an orange twist.

Nutrition score per serving: 214 calories, 19g carbs, 8g sugars

The margarita is by far the most famous tequila cocktail, and sadly the odds are that many tequila fans have never experienced a True Margarita.

The margarita is a fairly recent invention among well-known cocktails. It exploded on the scene in the mid-20th century. There are many tales about its creation, original recipe, and the origin of its’ name, but it’s absolutely no mystery what happened to the quality over the last 50 years – it was decimated. Sadly, the once proud mouth watering tequila cocktail is in most bars now reduced to an over poured, triple sec, sugar laden mess.

The original margarita recipe resembles a much older American cocktail known as The Daisy, which by the way “margarita” is the Spanish word for “daisy” – raising doubt on whether an actual person named, “Margarita” ever really existed. The Margaritas popularity exploded in the 70′s with the rise in interest of all things exotic, including of course tequila. Somewhere between then and now the chain restaurants with thier Tchotchke covered, mixto tequilas and corporate massive producer deals reduced the Margarita to a math formula – “How Cheap Can We Make This Drink to Sell it for the Maximum Profit?”

Tired bars, lazy bartenders, campy chain pubs and tacky tourist destinations assured Margaritas of two major flaws in the past 30 years.

Margarita Flaw #1 – Lousy Tequila

Sub-par tequila ruins a Margarita.  The best Chefs in the World agree, “Choose the best ingredients, and then let the ingredients shine.”  Sadly, this has not found it’s way into the rulebook of every friendly neighborhood bartender.  Spirit selection is absolutely key – incredibly key, one could argue singularly key – to producing high quality cocktails.  In addition to quality, choosing specific spirit manufacturer to match a cocktail is additionally important.  Choose a sweet agave fragrant reposado tequila for a fresh lemon and strawberry muddled Berry-Rita-Ade, and you have an award winning summer sip.  Choose a high quality, but smokey reposado tequila and you ruin a perfectly good drink.

TIPS

• 1) Choose 100% Ultr-Premium Tequila
• 2) Match the Tequila Brand and Flavor Profile to the Cocktail.

Margarita Flaw #2 – Over Sweetening Due to Excessive Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau

Do yourself a favor, skip the triple sec altogether.  Instead, use a fresh agave nectar.  The light variety works best in Margaritas.  You’ll get the sweetness that you’re looking for to offset the tang of the fresh  lime juice without stepping on the important and delicate profile of the best tequilas.  Additionally, the orange flavor found in many of the common Margarita additives is very powerful, and can easily overpower the subtle flavors in the best ultra premium tequila.  For example, char, smoke and heavy woods are easy flavors to achieve in tequila production.  Conversely, other flavors are difficult and expensive to produce.  Flavors such as true agave, natural sweetness, citrus, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, spice vanilla, butterscotch or caramel are complex, subtle and easily mistakenly over-powered.

TIPS

• 1) If you have a great tequila, with subtle flavor complexities, be very careful not to mask those valuable and delicious flavors.
• 2) Using fresh lime juice will give you all the citrus profile you need.  Skip citrus sweeteners such as triple sec altogether, and instead utilize fresh lime juice and agave nectar.

Margarita Flaw #Honorable Mention – Blending

Ice melts quickly in the heat, and the smaller the ice the faster the melt-age.  The rate of melt-age of various sizes of ice cube ie the reason why the best bars in the world often have a selection of ice styles available at the Mixologists disposal.   Melted ice, or blending dilutes the margarita, ruining it with over-watering.  Blending is an especially watering process, and is best avoided if you’re trying to capture the true “Full” flavor of the Margarita.

VOODOO TIKI MARGARITA RECIPE
- 2 oz Voodoo Tiki 100% Blue Agave Single Barrel Reposado Tequila
- 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 oz Fresh Agave Nectar

Notice the full ingredients total only 3.5 ounces.  This is because we’ve accounted for approximately 2 ounces of water from melt-age during the ice shaking process.  Straining into a martini glass ends both the cooling and ice melting (watering) processes.

The Voodoo Tiki Margarita recipe is a “Tequila Focus” Margarita recipe which allows the rare flavor complexities of single barrel Voodoo Tiki 100% Blue Agave Reposado Tequila to shine.

NOM is an acronym for, Norma Oficial Mexicana.  It’s a number that refers to the distiller registration number of the distillery in which the tequila was made. Currently  there are over 1,000 brands produced by about 100 distillers in the tequila region of Mexico.  All bottles are required to carry the NOM, stating the tequila’s distillery of origin.

The NOM does not indicate quality or a lack thereof.  Over the last decade, many new brands have entered the marketplace.  In the new century it has become very common for distilleries to create custom boutique tequilas, with unique recipes and quality, as well as some distilleries that engage in simple white labeling.

Voodoo Tiki Tequila is made utilizing high quality ingredients and processes – including single barreling!  Our Nom additionally makes a line of very good 100% blue agave tequila – the type you’d find in better establishments using a 100% blue agave tequila in their house margaritas.  It’s very good, but it’s certainly not the small batch single barrel quality found in Voodoo Tiki Tequila.  In essence, you have one distillery, one NOM making various qualities and labels of two entirely different brands of tequila.

On the other hand, some distilleries simply sell their own tequila to other bottlers.  In these cases the bottlers are in essence packagers and marketers.  This is a practice known as White Labeling, which is when a manufacturer produces a product for a company to brand.

This has led many tequila aficionados to confusion.  Some people erroneously believe that all tequila from the same nom is the same.  This is false.  In fact, many large tequila company’s openly flaunt differences in quality at various price points, for example, Milagro Tequila famously produces a very good 100% blue agave tequila commonly found in many house margaritas, and then entirely separately, and in different packaging at a different price they offer a higher end, higher quality version under the brand Milagro Romance.

Voodoo Tiki Tequila is an ultra-premium boutique single barrel tequila.  Single barrel tequilas are traditionally the very best.  We do not have a “line of various qualities.”  We have only the very best tequila that we can produce, in our own exclusive recipe and process.

This is not to say that making tequila in bulk, and with more affordable ingredients is wrong, or produces bad tequila.  It’s simply not our method.  Voodoo Tiki Tequila was created to be the best, and evolve to stay the best.  Tequila quality is our passion.

So next time a tequila guru tries to tell you that if the NOMs are the same the tequila is the same, you’ll be prepared to set the record straight.  All tequila from the same NOM is not equal.

This modern day mixology instant classic might be considered an updated version of the Tequila Sunrise.  Complex, sophisticated, smooth, lightly spicy from the ginger, sweet from the tangerine, and tart from the lime.  The multitude of fruit and ginger mix with the 100% blue agave, organic Platinum Voodoo Tiki to create a flavor sensation.  You’ll be asked for seconds.

This recipe is adapted with minor changes from Deborah Schneider’s book, Amor y Tacos.

Ingredients

•     4 slices fresh ginger, each 1/4-inch thick
•     2 slices tangerine, each 1/2-inch thick
•     1 .5 oz Voodoo Tiki Platinum Tequila
•     1 oz Agave Nectar
•     1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
•     2 oz pomegranate juice
• pomegranate seeds for garnish

Directions

In a mixing glass muddle the ginger and tangerine slices.  Add ice to hold down the solids.  Add tequila, agave nectar, lime juice, and pomegranate juice.  Shake lightly.  Strain into a martini glass or coupe and garnish with 3 or more pomegranate seeds.

Do you want 100 more amazing cocktail rrecipes?  Download 100 Margaritas!  The Voodoo Tiki Margarita guide.  It’s free!  Plus Join the Tribe for the latest tequila news and recipes direct to your inbox as well as free tequila swag by mail.

This sweet-and-sour spin on the classic Paloma was created by Dushan Zaric of Employees Only in New York.  The freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juice make this a refreshing summer cocktail great poolside or served as a welcome cocktail at a White Party.

Ingredients:

•     1 .5 oz Voodoo Tiki Reposado Tequila
•     1 oz Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
•     1 oz Fresh Squeezed Orange
•     1 oz Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit
•     2 oz Grapefruit Soda (Can Replace with Club Soda if Grapefruit Soda is Unavailable)
•     .5 Agave Nectar
•     pinch of salt

Directions
Fill a large glass with ice. Add salt, tequila, lime, orange, and grapefruit juice. Stir gently. Top off with grapefruit soda, add agave nectar. Garnish with lime wheel.

One of the hot trends in the tequila hobby is the introduction of “Tequila Flights.” Flights are so hot these days that it’s unlikely that you’ll find a tequila bar menu that doesn’t offer a variety of tequila flights.

A tequila flight is simply a tasting serving of three tequila offerings.  They come in a variety of styles, and are named accordingly.

Vertical Tequila Flight
In the Vertical Tequila Flight you are served 3 products from the same brand of tequila. For example, three 1 ounce servings in 3 shot glasses, 1) Voodoo Tiki Platinum Tequila, 2) Voodoo Tiki Reposado Tequila and 3) Voodoo Tiki Anejo tequila.  In essence you are sampling the brand, and their aging process from Blanco (Platinum, or Silver), Reposado, and Anejo.

Horizontal Tequila Flight
This allows you to try 3 products that are the same type of tequila, but different brands. For example, all three shots will be Reposado Tequilas, 1) Voodoo Tiki Reposado Tequila, 2) Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila, and 3) Casa Noble Reposado Tequila.

The Spirits of Mexico Flight
This flight is a great introduction to Agave products.  You will have the opportunity to sample 3 offerings that are all made in Mexico, but different spirits produced from different plants. For example, a Mezcal made from the Green Agave, a Tequila made from the Blue Agave and a Sotol, a form of Mezcal made from a different plant: the Dasilyrion, which belongs to the family Nolinaceae.

Margarita Flight
Three samples of the house specialty margaritas, usually a Classic Margarita, Prickly Pear Margarita and a third house specialty such as a Blue Margarita, Watermelon Margarita or Peach Lime Margarita.

Infusion Flight
Often a Prickly Pear infusion, such as Voodoo Tiki Prickly Pear Infused Tequila, a Lime Infused Tequila (Voodoo Tiki Green Dragon Lime Infused Tequila) and Voodoo Tiki Blue Dragon Blue Kiwi and Raspberry infused tequila.  Other popular tequila infusions include pineapple, coconut and coffee.

Mixology Shots Flight
A variety of tequila mixology shots, usually a gourmet tasting of the Mixologists Selection of 3-8 selections.

Tequila flights aren’t only for restaurants.  You can have a lot of fun at home with friends and family whenever new agave products hit the shelves at your favorite retailer. Flights are also the perfect way to introduce someone to Tequila.  If your local tequila bar doesn’t offer flights inquire about them.  Many will be more than happy to help.

Voodoo Tiki Tequila Shots Flight

As a mixer, tequila owes a debt to the margarita, whose origin is shrouded in mystery.  Voodoo Tiki Tequila features the historically classic Original Margarita Recipe on the website, as well as the free downloadable margarita guide – 100 Margaritas!  The Voodoo Tiki Tequila margarita features fresh squeezed lime juice, real agave nectar and of course Voodoo Tiki Single Barrel 100% blue agave tequila.

Voodoo Tiki Tequila Classic Margarita

Margaritas are all the rage these days, but there are many other popular tequila mixed cocktails.  tequila mixed cocktails aren’t limited to the Tequila Sunrise.  Throughout the Voodoo Tiki website you will find hundreds of “Mixology Class” tequila cocktails including Muertos Vivientos, Delores Park Swizzle, and the Old Fashion’s New Twist.  These cocktails make use of the very best of tequilas.  Traditionally, sub par tequilas have been used in tequila cocktails, a practice that we do not recommend.  The best cocktails, made by the best Mixologists in the world utilize the finest ingredients, like Voodoo Tiki Tequila.
If you feel like entertaining in a relaxed laid back manner with tequila, quality tequila can be served for sipping in shot glasses or snifters like brandy or fine whiskey. Cigars are a fine complement.  Check out some of the tequila flavored cigars available on the market today.  A nice option in this case is two choices of ice, Large Cube and Chipped.  Chipped ice will offer additional melt-age, adding some water to the drink (Along the lines of a Scotch and Water), while the large cube style offers slower melt-age for those that want to chill their tequila without an abundance of water.  Of course, some of your guests will opt for their tequila served, “Neat.”

If the need arises, feel free to add a little water to open it up and serve in a low ball style of glass with a garnish or ice if you like. For margaritas, whether you serve them on the deck in a plastic cup or in fancy glasses rimmed with salt, click here to learn how to make them properly.

The Voodoo Tiki Board in Action

Of course tequila shots are always popular.  One exciting and fun party trend in the Voodoo Tiki Board, a shot drinking game board available in the Voodoo Tiki store.  Five people load the Voodoo Tiki Board and all must raise the board and drink at once.  It’s tricky, a load of laughs and a photo bonanza.  Voodoo Tiki also offers handmade tiki shot glasses.  They come in five colors, the common red, green and blue, the very rare pink and the ultra rare clear known by fans as “Invisible” for it’s clarity and rarity.  Voodoo Tiki handmade Tiki shot glasses are a fantastic way to enjoy your tequila with friends.  Check out the Coleccion Privada de la Familia – Voodoo Tiki’s Double Barrel Extra Anejo, which comes packed in a hand carved 2 foot tall tiki idol and also includes four of these remarkable shot glasses.  Check it out in the Voodoo Tiki Store.

Shots do not need to be straight tequila.  Margarita shots, cocktail shots can be very popular, and even served as “Flights.”  A Margarita Flight offers your guests the opportunity to sample 3 varieties of margarita without having to consume 3 full cocktails.  Flights is a great way for your guests to sample a variety of drinks and still get home safely.  This is a great option for tasting parties.

A Variety of Voodoo Tiki Tequila Mixology Shots

Of course Tequila Flights usually involve tequila tasting in the traditional sense and usually come in two varieties.  The vertical flight which is a Silver, Reposado and Anejo of the same brand, and the horizontal flight which is three tequilas of a common age from three variant producers, such as three platinum tequilas from three different manufacturers.

However you enjoy your tequila, presentation is on of the keys to enjoyment.  You can find many great ideas for tequila get togethers throughout the Voodoo Tiki website.  Join the Tribe to get notices of the latest tequila recipes, news as well as tequila swag by mail.

Seven Up, Sprite Or Lemon Lime Soda

Spike it with: Voodoo Tiki Platinum Tequila

The effervescent lemon and lime flavors rising with the carbonation make for a perfect playground for fragrant and agave sweet Voodoo Tiki Platinum.  The result is a soft tequila flavor which retains the snap of the carbonation and the cool citrus of the lemon and lime.

How to Use It: Order a shot on the side and mix it in slowly as you sip, or simply order it premixed.  Add approximately 1.5 ounces for each 8 ounces of soda, or to taste.

Cola (Especially Coca Cola)

Spike it with: Voodoo Tiki Anejo Tequila

You’ve no doubt heard of a Jack and Coke.  Voodoo Tiki Anejo is a single barrel anejo tequila with nuances of dark chocolates, rich caramels and butter scotches derived from the single barrel aging process.  Single barreling means that flavors are extracted from the wood only once before the barrel is discarded.  This means the rich flavors are imparted to the tequila.  You may never order a Jack and Coke again.  Get used to saying Tiki and Coke.

How to Use It: Order a shot on the side and mix it in slowly as you sip, or simply order it premixed.  Add approximately 1.5 ounces for each 8 ounces of soda, or to taste.

Lemonade

Spike it with: Voodoo Tiki Desert Rose Prickly Pear Infused Tequila

Turn that lemonade pucker on it’s ass with sweet and refreshing Voodoo Tiki Desert Rose Prickly Pear infused tequila.  The sugars in the lemonade will activate the infusion in the Desert Rose giving you a fragrant, flowery and refreshing elixir impossible to put down, and impossible to have just one.

How to Use It: Order a shot on the side and after you take a big sip of the lemonade simply pour it in yourself.  The bigger the glass and more ice the better.  Add approximately 2 ounces for each 8 ounces of lemonade, or to taste.

Ice Tea

Spike it with: Voodoo Tiki Platinum Tequila

The secret to the ice tea cocktail has always been the tequila.  The best mixologists know that a proper long island ice tea is five white liquors – Rum, Vodka, Gin, Tequila, Triple Sec and tequila.  This is how they break down in the glass, rum and triple sec are sugars, vodka has no flavor and gin is a juniper flavor that really has little place in ice tea.  What’s left?  The tequila!  Which is why using a quality tea, with a quality tequila will yield a far more delicious creation that sour mix colored with cola (That’s how they make the tea part – sour mix and cola.  As you can imagine, not a great flavor.)  You can even add a splash of cranberry for a flavored tea.

How to Use It: Order a shot on the side and after you take a big sip of the Ice Tea simply pour it in yourself.  Works best with sweet teas, so if your tea is unsweetened add sugar to taste.  Add approximately 2 ounces for each 8 ounces of lemonade, or to taste.

Arnold Palmer

Spike it with: Voodoo Tiki Platinum Tequila

Like the Ice Tea Spike above, this is a hole in one.  Delicious, and very drinkable.  Keep them light if you intend on enjoying them all day in the sun.

How to Use It: Add approximately 1-2 ounces for each 8 ounces of lemonade (4 oz) mixed with Ice Tea (4 oz).

Chocolate Shake

Spike it with: Voodoo Tiki Reposado Tequila

If there was ever a 100% blue agave single barrel tequila that screamed chocolate and vanilla it’s Voodoo Tiki Reposado.  This single barrel grabs hold of every vanilla and chocolate nuance it can suck out of the wood, and then just before it begins to take on a woody flavor we take it from the barrel and bottle it’s liquid chocolatey goodness.

How to Use It: Order a shot on the side and mix it in slowly as you sip, or simply order it premixed.  Add approximately 1.5 ounces for each 8 ounces of soda, or to taste.

The Voodoo Tiki Board is a huge hit at bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and home parties alike!

Between November 1s, 2012t and January 1st, 2013 we shipped over 300 Voodoo Boards to tequila fans that purchased them trough the Voodoo Tiki website.  An additional 200 were shipped to retailers via the Voodoo Tiki selective retailers program.  The Voodoo Tiki Board is a hit at any party, and a great photo opportunity as people load their images to various social media outlets.

The Voodoo Tiki Board works on a simple premise – cooperation.  In restaurants, bars and nightclubs the game works like this, five Voodoo Tiki Shotglasses are inserted into the holes found on the center of the board.  The glasses are spaced a12″ apart.  Unlike traditional “Ski Shots” the glasses are not glued down or mounted in any way.  It takes five people working carefully together for the Tiki Shotglasses to survive, and if your glass survives you keep it.

You can order a Voodoo Tiki Board for yoru next party here, or if you’re a retailer call the Voodoo Tiki Hotline at 1-VOODOO-TIKI to find out how to get one for your establishment.