So my first memory of tequila is admittedly not so pleasant. I will confess that it was at a high school party at a friends house. I cannot remember the brand, but for many years, I could remember the smell. And for those same years, that smell made me want to throw up. So I never drank tequila again… well until…
Fast forward to approximately 15 years ago when my husband joined the military and we were posted to Victoria, no family or friends located at our final destination other than those who fit in our car. And then that very first fall, we met our now handful of, but very best and dearest friends. Correction. Our family. Those we choose to be our family and those that we can count on no matter what. Whether we just want to hang out, or whether we needed help to move or paint. Whether we needed a meal when I was sick, whether it was weeknight therapy when I needed to rant about the kids when my husband was sailing, or whether it was to learn how to make wine. Or, shamelessly, whether it was that day I sat in the car at work and used a tee shirt to wipe away the tears (and snot) from yet another tragic day in the office (which for me ARE becoming rarer and rarer). Those people who are always there for us…they are my family.
And those people are the ones that helped me find my love of tequila again. As family, we spend time together and have been known to host a few gatherings. Whether for a birthday, a retirement, a pre deployment, a post deployment, a holiday get together, camping, skiing, or simply, just because. Those gatherings are the times that reinforce what family and friends really are. They are the glue that helps keep us all together, connected and whole.
And with almost every one of those gatherings comes a bottle, perhaps two, of tequila. With lots of lime, and of course, salt.
Now you probably think salt is just salt. I did too until I visited Duke’s in Waikiki a few years back with my husband and some friends and ordered myself a shot of tequila to celebrate the start of our vacation. That shot was served in a a finely rimmed shot glass with course sea salt. I don’t remember the tequila at all, but I sure do remember that salt. And with that shot, my life changed when it came to salt. Not only when rimming a glass for tequila, but also with cooking.
So pass the salt and the tequila please, while I continue my quest to find the smoothest shot of tequila (as per my Bucket List post). So far my favorite remains Camarena Reposado Tequila, a reasonably priced, Hencho en Mexico tequila, with lingering vanilla and caramel in the finish. And obviously, served in a shot glass rimmed with Vancouver Island’s own flaked sea salt and a wedge of lime. Salut!