That’s the Spirit: Farewell to summer drinks

Jimmy Buffet once sang, “Don’t know the reason, stayed here all season.” I know why, Jimmy: margaritas … summertime and margaritas.

Summer ends in three days, which is fine because then we get football and sweaters and pumpkin-spiced everything. If you had asked me a month ago, I would have said, “Good riddance, heat!” Now, I’m mourning the end of fruity cocktail season. I guess the grass is always greener.

I thought it was only appropriate that for my “last hurrah,” I drink a margarita or several.

I tend to stick with the classic margarita, which is some variation of tequila, lime juice and agave or triple sec, and there are several places I go to around town for a classic margarita. But I wanted to mix it up a bit, so I went to Coyote Blues for their Sangria Rita. This drink is proof that with enough fruity liqueurs, even red wine can seem summery.

The reason I tend to stick with the classic margarita is because when you start adding fruity mixers and liqueurs to any drink, it ends up becoming too sugary to enjoy. The Sangria Rita was a perfect combination of red wine and fruity liqueurs—with the flavors of orange, raspberry and peach—without knocking you out with sugar. (Side note: the classic margarita at Coyotes Blues is wonderful, as well.)

In fact, the rest of the table pretty much abandoned their drinks and jumped on my Sangria ship as we sailed away into the margarita sunset. It was beautiful.

Below are the items you’ll need to make your own version of the Coyote Blues cocktail. Play around with the proportions to your own liking.

Sangria Rita (served frozen or on the rocks)
* Sauza Silver tequila
* O3 Orange liqueur
* Merlot
* Razzmatazz
* Peach Schnapps