Welcome back to Good Day Stateline.
We love a party here.
and tonight, we're celebrating Cinco de Mayo with award
winning Mexican American mixologist Eric Castro.
Hi, Eric.
Hello. Thank you so much for having me.
Yeah, you look like you're having a party
and we need your help to have the best party here.
authentic ways to celebrate Cinco de Mayo this year?
before we dove into the food and drink,
I wanted to mention and clear up
a misconception about Cinco de Mayo.
And there's a lot of people out there
the Mexican Independence Day, similar to for July,
but it's actually a celebration of Mexico's
victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1863.
But regardless, I think it's
a perfect opportunity to celebrate the Mexican culture
in an authentic and respectful manner.
And that's of course with food and drink.
Thank you for clearing that up because I've heard
so many different things about it as well.
So thank you for sharing that.
With our viewers. And now let's talk
food and drink like you said, so important.
what we're doing here is I partnered up with Corsica
and what we're doing
is we're pairing Margarita riffs with
three of their different cases.
The first one we have right here is the Blanco two miles,
and it's lime
grapefruit, cinnamon, Sirup Bitters, and of course
a little bit of tequila.
And that one is made
specifically to pair with the case of Blanco.
OK, so then the second drink is the fresco Rita,
and that's made
to pair with the classic French brand case of fresco.
In that drink is tequila,
lemon peach liquor, almond sirup, and bitters.
In the last drink is called the whoa haka Rita.
And that's Tequila Mist called Lime Pineapple Gardenia
in Orange Bitters, and that pairs with the Cacique.
It Will Hakka, which is a cheese that's similar to mozzarella,
except a little more melty. So it makes a perfect case of beer.
Well, all of those sounds so good.
Which one is your favorite drink?
You have one.
Oh, you know what?
Honestly, it's
hard to pick my favorite, but if I had to,
I would probably go with the Carita.
I love the the bit of water in my skull
that goes with the drink, and it somehow makes it even
better with the cheese.
That sounds so good. I'm very jealous.
I have zero food and zero drinks in front of me.
So you know what it is?
I feel like if you really want to dove
into the culture of a country, the best way to do that
and to educate yourself on it
is to just dove into the food and drink.
OK, so we're talking food and drink.
how to make a margarita, but I have a feeling,
you know, how to make a margarita better than everybody
What advice do you have for those of us who would love
to be mixologist someday?
You know, just like making delicious food at home
where it's all about fresh ingredients
and high quality ingredients
making cocktails much the same way.
You know, as long as you're starting out
with quality spirits and fresh juices
and ingredients, you're always going to up
with something that you can be proud of.
So when you said there was a little bit of tequila
in that drink in front of you, how much tequila is in there?
How much tequila should we put in our margarita?
Yeah, you know, the typical pour
at most craft cocktail bars and a lot of old
classic cocktail books, generally two ounces.
if you want to pull back to an ounce and a half,
the reason to be bashful about it, right?
Pull back just a little less than you can have to rest,
you know? Yeah, you're right.
So what are some of your favorite Cinco
de Mayo dishes that we want to look into this year
on honestly, there are so many dishes
to choose from, you know, out of Mexico.
But if I had to just pick three that are perfect specifically
the first one I would start is with the classic case of Blanco.
OK, so there because not only is it delicious, but
it's so easy to prepare.
You just honestly put in a microwave for 2 minutes,
pull it out, grab a bag of tortilla chips.
And Michelle, you are in business.
I love our enchiladas. Enchiladas right here.
you are stuffed with the ranchero
brand case of fresco
with a little bit
of additional case
of fresco on top for added deliciousness and texture.
And this last one is what I really want to stress
and that's that these cases are made with melted, gooey Oaxaca.
And the reason why we specifically chose
Oaxacan cheese is that it's a lot more authentic
then you using mozzarella or a cheddar or what they call
a Mexican blend at your local grocery store.
Well, that all sounds really delicious.
Is there somewhere we can go to follow you
to get more tips, get more recipe ideas?
Oh, I'm actually glad you asked.
And what you can do is head on over to cocktail courier
OK, is there you can order your free in a box
from now until May 25th OK if you're over 21 you can call
yeah.
Or actually go online
and you can have this kit which is a fiesta in a box
which is all the cheeses and everything.
We make these cocktails
delivered directly to your doorstep.
Honestly, it could not be easier.
I love that idea.
We can have a fiesta the entire month long.
Right. That's awesome.
Thank you so much for hanging out with us tonight.
Thank you so much for having me and have a happy Cinco de Mayo.
We'll be right back with more Good day Stateline.