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When I'm asked to judge a food-related competition -- be it a pie contest, barbecue cook-off, rib-eating contest or chili challenge -- my favorite shirt to wear is one emblazoned with tiny images of chili peppers and bottles of Tabasco hot sauce.
I bought a couple of the shirts years ago in New Orleans when I used to attend Mardi Gras. I remember being told how rare it was for the Tabasco company to lend its fabled name and logo to products.
Last month, the same sentiment was echoed to me by all-star New York publicist Laura Baddish.
She told me about a new spirit that's getting lots of attention these days.
The McIlhenny Co., makers of Tabasco sauce, has introduced its own special tequila, and the promotion launch made a huge splash this spring -- especially after a campaign targeted for Feb. 22, which was National Margarita Day.
And since Baddish included a pitch involving the late, great actress Rita Hayworth, it certainly grabbed my attention.
"That's right Phil, now the nation's most popular cocktail has a day all its own," she said.
"Some say the Margarita was named after a woman named, what else but Margarita, when she served the cocktail at her own soiree. Others attribute this satisfying cocktail to Danny Negrette, a bartender who created the cocktail to toast his new sister- in-law, Margarita in 1936. But legend also has it the cocktail was named after socialite Margaret Sames who served it in 1948 at her Acapulco Bar. But my favorite explanation is about Enrique Bastate Gutierrez, who claimed to have created it in Tijuana in the '40s as a special cocktail for Rita Hayworth, whose real name was Margarita Cansino."
And since Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner, Baddish included a great cocktail recipe for a special Margarita using Tabasco Spicy Tequila. The drink is dedicated to Hayworth, who was spicy hot as the title character in "Gilda" in the 1946 film classic by Columbia Pictures.
I think Hayworth, who died far too young at age 69 in 1983, would be pleased.
A TABASCO-RITA
2 ounce Tabasco Spicy Tequila
1 ounce orange liqueur
1/2 ounce lime juice
Salt
DIRECTIONS: Dip rim of glass into salt. Combine ingredients in shaker with ice. Shake well and serve over ice in a margarita glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at philip.potempa@nwi.com or 219.852.4327.
I bought a couple of the shirts years ago in New Orleans when I used to attend Mardi Gras. I remember being told how rare it was for the Tabasco company to lend its fabled name and logo to products.
Last month, the same sentiment was echoed to me by all-star New York publicist Laura Baddish.
She told me about a new spirit that's getting lots of attention these days.
The McIlhenny Co., makers of Tabasco sauce, has introduced its own special tequila, and the promotion launch made a huge splash this spring -- especially after a campaign targeted for Feb. 22, which was National Margarita Day.
And since Baddish included a pitch involving the late, great actress Rita Hayworth, it certainly grabbed my attention.
"That's right Phil, now the nation's most popular cocktail has a day all its own," she said.
"Some say the Margarita was named after a woman named, what else but Margarita, when she served the cocktail at her own soiree. Others attribute this satisfying cocktail to Danny Negrette, a bartender who created the cocktail to toast his new sister- in-law, Margarita in 1936. But legend also has it the cocktail was named after socialite Margaret Sames who served it in 1948 at her Acapulco Bar. But my favorite explanation is about Enrique Bastate Gutierrez, who claimed to have created it in Tijuana in the '40s as a special cocktail for Rita Hayworth, whose real name was Margarita Cansino."
And since Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner, Baddish included a great cocktail recipe for a special Margarita using Tabasco Spicy Tequila. The drink is dedicated to Hayworth, who was spicy hot as the title character in "Gilda" in the 1946 film classic by Columbia Pictures.
I think Hayworth, who died far too young at age 69 in 1983, would be pleased.
A TABASCO-RITA
2 ounce Tabasco Spicy Tequila
1 ounce orange liqueur
1/2 ounce lime juice
Salt
DIRECTIONS: Dip rim of glass into salt. Combine ingredients in shaker with ice. Shake well and serve over ice in a margarita glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at philip.potempa@nwi.com or 219.852.4327.
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