Surry Hill’s tequila den, Tio’s Cerveceria, has partnered with El Jimador for a month of festivities based around Australia’s favourite cocktail.
“Of course, for us at Tio’s, every month is Margarita Month!” Jeremy Blackmore, founder of the bar, told The Shout.
“But for one month a year, the rest of the world gets back into Margaritas too, and we’re going to celebrate it at Tio’s by celebrating lots and lots of Margaritas, and especially the Jimmy’s.”
This is a new, signature Margarita recipe that the bar has developed with El Jimador especially for this month, based around the Australian mispronunciation of the brand’s name, and the famous Tommy’s Margarita. See the recipe here.
“El Jimador approached me and we’re always happy to work with those guys, we’ve been working with them for almost ten years now,” Jeremy said.
The drink contains a base of El Jimador’s 100 per cent blue weber agave blanco tequila.
“They wanted me to come up with a drink that was kind of, perfect for the Australian summer, but with a few inspirations from Mexico in there as well. We realised that we didn’t want to do something too similar to a Tommy’s, we couldn’t do something with Cointreau, so we landed on doing something with pineapple syrup.
“Pineapple season is right now as well, perfect for Margarita Month, so we’re getting these amazing, juicy fruit in from North Queensland and the Norther Territory, and we’re using that natural sweetness and tartness.”
Jeremy provided more detail on the inspiration behind this drink in a press release.
“Margarita taste preferences have changed throughout the years, but we’re yet to land on a recipe that’s uniquely Australian,” he commented.
“When crafting the Jimmy’s Margarita with el Jimador and Tio’s, we chose Australian pineapple to create a pine and lime combination (hello splice!) that enhances tequila’s natural citrus notes and creates a unique Margarita serve that’s perfect for the Aussie palate.”
Richard Dredge, Senior Brand Manager at El Jimador also spoke about the collaboration.
“Our 100% hand-harvested blue weber agave blanco tequila is perfect for any marg, but Jeremy and the Tio’s team have really taken it to the next level with the Jimmy’s Margarita. We love the use of pineapple in particular – it’s uniquely Australian and also enhances the natural citrus notes of El Jimador, which come about thanks to our distinct open barrel fermentation process.”
Finally, Jeremy also thinks the Jimmy’s Margarita is a perfect fit for the Australian climate.
“It’s the perfect time, as summer comes to an end, and autumn ramps up, to get out there and drink some delicious Mexican cocktails like the Margarita,” Jeremy concludes.
Margarita Month kicked off with a launch party on 31 January, and the Jimmy’s margartia will be available from Tio’s throughout February.