margagogo

My Signature Drink is the Margarita.

If the idea of having a Signature Drink ever crossed your mind and you’re reading this blog, you probably guessed that.

If a Signature Drink is a novel idea to you, you might wonder how to declare a signature drink. Foremost, you probably want to know why bother and what I get out of it.

The “how” is simple: I called up my brother one day and said “Margaritas are my Signature Drink”. He accepted the news like having a Signature Drink is normal (or at least normal for me).

The “What” is everything and nothing. First, there’s power: I’m responsible for anyone who suffers ill effect from enjoying Margaritas. I know tequila based hangovers are my fault because my mother told me so. Right after making my declaration I attended a family wedding. My sister-in-law joined me for a few excellent Margaritas and when she woke up feeling green and begged out of a walk around Boston with my parents, my mother blamed me because as she said; “It was your Signature Drink.”

My Signature Drink also gets me invited to a lot of Mexican restaurants which is good for me because I’m a Mexican food fan. And when friends make plans with me, they often pick a place with a Margarita specialty or at least a skilled mixologist. In a way, my Signature Drink is a social driver.

And I get Margarita related gifts. My brother and sister-in-law gave me a Margaritaville Margarita maker. It slushes the ice – slushed ice is a BIG deal.

It was Christmas and after all the gifts were open, wrapping paper was strewn over the floor and my niece was laughing and playing with the $3 “Grinch in the box” ornament rather than the piles of other toys, and my brother plucked an envelope off the tree and handed it to me.

I opened it and eased out a card covered with a picture of my dream Margarita maker. The Margaritaville Margarita Maker that I’d seen in the store and felt like it was too big an indulgence to buy (but I continued to visit it on a regular basis) was going to be delivered to my home.

And I cried.

They’d already given me a wonderful gift and I wasn’t expecting it and it was just so generous … and I mentioned the slushed ice….

Before this, the only Christmas gift that brought me to tears was when my Aunt gave me a necklace made with my recently deceased Grandmother’s diamond.

The Margarita Maker struck a cord.

Margarita-related gifts are way better than the cat and horse themed gifts I got as a child. I got books, stuffed animals, candles and even a plush cat doorstop (made with a brick in the body). By far the worst gift was a toy cat made with yellow, red, green and orange patchwork fabric that had two small patchwork kittens (that were so small and awkward they looked at best, unhealthy) stuck to its stomach with Velcro as if they were nursing.

And this rolls me right into the “Why”. Why declare a Signature Drink?

It tells people something about me – for example you might intuit I’m breezy and fun as a summer day or maybe just sweet and sour. It’s fun and silly and silly and makes an impression. And, nobody will ever again consider giving me a toy nursing cat. For that, I’ll take the pressure of being responsible for margarita related hangovers. For that, I think I’m “winning”