My Best Vanilla Margarita and a Heilala Vanilla Syrup #Giveaway

by Dorothy Reinhold on September 19, 2013


Print This Post Print This Post My Best Vanilla Margarita on Shockingly Delicious

When an ingredient is so of-the-moment, so well crafted, so perfect, it not only commands respect, it inspires creativity.

Take Heilala Vanilla Syrup. I talked about it in my June Favorites list earlier this summer, when I confessed I was using it:

  • instead of another sweetener on my muesli or cooked oatmeal in the morning
  • in a shot of rum for a fantastic cocktail
  • in my iced tea
  • stirred into thick, plain Greek yogurt
  • as a finishing flourish on a fruit sorbet

The love affair has continued. I made Raw Strawberry-Vanilla Chia Jam (delicious!), and the other night we had a 6th grade friend over for dinner, and when we were done, she batted her eyelashes and asked, “Are we having fresh raspberries and that vanilla syrup for dessert? I really want that.” Well, sure! I hadn’t recalled that I fed her that before, but done, and done!

I really wanted the vanilla flavor this morning, so I put it on my cooked-but-cold quinoa for breakfast. Yes, it’s that good.

You know what? I declare, here and now, that maple syrup is over, and this is the new maple syrup.

Vanilla Margarita on Shockingly DeliciousMade from the world’s richest grade of vanilla grown in the Kingdom of Tonga in organic virgin soil, Heilala Vanilla is hand pollinated and sun-dried before being made into this 100% pure vanilla syrup. A whole bean is tucked into the bottle to ensure the flavors continue to develop over time.

It’s available at select Whole Foods Markets, Draeger’s Market, Oliver’s Market and New Leaf Community Markets all in Northern California, at Bristol Farms, and now online through Heilala’s OpenSky page (there is an easy registration required — email address and create a password). I saw it priced online at $19 for 2 bottles, which is an incredible deal considering a single bottle usually retails for $15.

This syrup is nothing short of an elixir, and I was inspired by it to create a Vanilla Margarita. And I want you all to have a chance at having some, so I have a great giveaway right below the recipe! 

This Vanilla Margarita is simple, sincere and sophisticated. Sweeeet!

Recipe: Vanilla Margarita

Summary: Simple yet sophisticated, this Vanilla Margarita has a deliriously good sweet-sour tang, with a heady perfume from Heilala Vanilla.

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces good quality tequila (see note below)
  • 2 teaspoons Meyer lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons Heilala Vanilla Syrup

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to a measuring cup or cocktail shaker and stir/shake.
  2. If you like your margarita cold but not icy, then shake with crushed ice and strain into a pretty glass. If you like ice in your drink, add crushed ice to your glass and pour in the margarita.
  3. Serves. 1. (Oh, who are we kidding? Double this. Still serves 1.)

Tequila

Don Julio Reposado TequilaWhat tequila should you use? I am overly fond of Don Julio Reposado, made from 100% Blue Agave, double distilled and matured in small oak barrels. Very smooth, rich, with a hint of pear, apple and lemon aroma. It’s pricy at $50ish, but you can often find it on sale for $40ish. Or find something like Jose Cuervo Silver Tequila, more in the $15ish range, which is less special and nuanced, but perfectly fine for a mixed drink such as a margarita. Suit yourself and your wallet.

Another crazy margarita you might like

Basilrita Basil Margarita on Shockingly DeliciousMy award-winning Basilrita (Basil Margarita)!

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Diet type: Vegetarian, vegan
Diet tags: Reduced fat, Gluten free
Number of servings (yield): 1
Culinary tradition: USA (Nouveau)
My rating 5 stars:  ★★★★★ 

Giveaway!

Heilala Vanilla Syrup 2 bottlesShockingly Delicious and Heilala have joined hands to bring you a very sweet giveaway. Four lucky readers of Shockingly Delicious will win a Heilala Vanilla Syrup 2-Pack. To enter, simply do any or all of the following:

  1. Leave a comment on this post telling me how you would use Heilala Vanilla Syrup. (Please make sure you enter your email address with your comment so I can reach you if you’re a winner.)
  2. Like Shockingly Delicious on Facebook and Heilala Vanilla USA on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you did.
  3. Follow Shockingly Delicious on Twitter and Heilala Vanilla on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you did and what your Twitter handle is.
  4. Tweet or RT news about this giveaway, using the wording below or your own wording, but being sure to include @Heilalavanilla and@Shockinglydlish in your wording. Leave me a comment with the URL of your Tweet.
Suggested Tweet: I want to win 2 bottles of Heilala Vanilla Syrup in a @Heilalavanilla #giveaway on @shockinglydlish. You too? Enter: http://ow.ly/oUPfP
To participate in the giveaway you may do any of these, and each is considered a separate entry, so leave a separate comment for each one you do.

This giveaway is for four winners — each gets a 2-pack (2x250ml bottles) of Heilala Vanilla Syrup (value $30 per pack).

  • Open to U.S. residents only with mailing addresses in the USA.
  • Deadline: Submissions will close at noon Pacific Time on Monday, Sept. 30, 2013.
  • Winners will be notified via email within 24 hours of the close of the giveaway, and given 48 hours to respond. If I do not receive a response in 48 hours, I’ll need to draw new winners.
  • There is more legal fine print here.

Ready, set, GO!

Disclosure: I received a sample of Heilala Vanilla Syrup for recipe testing, and Heilala will send winners their packs of syrup.  

Tagged as: cocktail, Heilala vanilla syrup, margarita, Meyer lemon juice, tequila, unique cocktail, unique margarita

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