Nationally Recognized Mixologists: Dale DeGroff, Andy Seymour, Junior Merino and Adam Seger Create Modern Margaritas with CORZO™ Tequila
As Americans become more cocktail savvy, bartenders are looking to classic cocktails for creative inspiration.
“Sometimes the best way to move forward is to go back to the beginning,” says leading mixologist Andy Seymour.
Mr. Seymour is one of four mixologists in CORZO’s Modern Margarita all-star lineup which includes Dale DeGroff, Junior Merino and Adam Seger. All four have lent their skills to create a modern interpretation of America’s most popular cocktail, the margarita. Made with CORZO Tequila, each Modern Margarita recipe has distinct character and flavor, each reflective of the current demand for innovation, taste and technique at the bar.
Today, the margarita remains the number one bar call in the country. While many variations of the traditional recipe exist, CORZO’s Modern Margaritas are designed for more contemporary tastes. When creating a cocktail, “take a look at the drink’s origins,” says Andy Seymour, “and find a parallel to drink makers’ trends of today.”
Modern Margarita variations transcend the traditional margarita glass with the use of stemless glassware. Recipes also incorporate alternative sources of sweeteners such as fresh agave syrup, an ingredient unique to Mexico. Unlike conventional brands, CORZO Tequila combines the age old secrets of Mexican tequila making along with an advanced production process that triple distills and twice mellows the tequila in American white oak barrels for perfect smoothness and flavor.
As for the classic salted rim, modern versions call for the addition of pepper to the salt mix as seen in Adam Seger’s CORZO Modernita or the combination of chocolate and ancho chili powder in Dale DeGroff’s CORZO Mayan Margarita. Some even suggest salting half of the rim, as every sip need not be the same.
New mixology techniques include “the hard shake,” which makes the drink colder and better balanced. Large cubes made from purified water prevent flavors from diluting. And lastly, these cocktails use savory ingredients such as ginger, jalapeno and pepper – all trends that are popping up at hot bars across the nation.
“We all have read about the culinary cocktails that are appearing around the country and, for that matter, all around the world. There has been a change in the DNA of the cocktail, an evolutionary jump,” says Dale DeGroff.
The Modern Margarita represents the evolution of the cocktail while preserving its deep rooted traditions. 
The CORZO Mayan Margarita features an unsweetened cacao and ancho chili powder rim.
The CORZO Mayan Margarita features an unsweetened cacao and ancho chili powder rim.“The cocoa powder goes back 1000 years to the discovery of the sacred cacao by indigenous peoples in Mexico, Central, and South America and forward to the cutting edge culinary cocktail of the new millennium,” says Dale Degroff.
Andy Seymour’s CORZO Postmodern puts an updated spin on The Daisy, a popular drink of the 19th century. As the story goes, this recipe took on a familiar look in Mexico when The Daisy was born from the combination of tequila and prominent citrus fruits (limes), later becoming the Margarita.
Seymour says, “The original lemon based recipe is a perfect complement to CORZO tequila, as the bright citrus draws out the agave flavor of tequila. Sherry and bitters go back to mixology’s earliest days, but until recently had been forgotten items behind most bars.”
Creating a new, modernized drink isn’t just about mixing cocktails. “It’s about sharing experience, knowledge, passion, and creativity to make ingredients come together in a well balanced and harmonized cocktail,“ says Junior Merino.
To see the recipes for four original Modern Margarita recipes for the progressive cocktail connoisseur made with CORZO tequila, visit our Mixology page.
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