The best days, I think, are when I come home to a liquor delivery on my doorstep.

What made last night’s delivery even better was that is was a new tequila to try out, just in time for National Margarita Day.

First things first, y’all know how much I adore good packaging and this bottle of La Pinta from Casa Tradición ultra-premium tequila line delivers that in spades.

But looks aren’t everything, how does it taste?

Smooth. Sweet and savory. The unmistakable scent and flavor of tequila and the tart, sweet taste of pomegranate.

I would (and did) drink this straight. And I don’t usually drink liquor straight.

It was that good.

But it’s National Margarita Day, so it’s time to put this tequila to work!

According to Margaritaville (and who better to ask), Jimmy Buffet’s favorite Margarita goes like this:

The Perfect Margarita (Jimmy’s favorite):

1 oz Margaritaville Gold Tequila
.5 oz Margaritaville Silver Tequila
.5 oz Triple Sec
.5 oz Orange Curacao
.5 oz Lime juice
2 Lime Wedges

Rim margarita glass with salt.  Combine ingredients in a shaker filled with ice.  Squeeze limes and add to tin.  Shake vigorously and pour into a margarita glass and enjoy.

Now, we all know what I think about triple sec (just say no!) and I seemed to be somehow out of limes–the horror!

But when you have a fabulous tequila like the La Pinta around, a missing lime is so far from the end of the world it’s not even worth worrying about.

Instead, I concocted my own cocktail which I think shows off the tequila to great advantage.

La Pinta Pomegranate Margarita

1.5 oz La Pinta Pomegranate Infused Tequila
1 oz Cointreau
juice of 1 Clementine or Mandarin orange
salt for rimming the glass

Salt the rim of your chosen cocktail glass and add a few ice cubes to it. Combine all ingredients and half the clementine in a shaker over ice and shake like a maraca! Strain into the prepared glass and garnish with a wedge of clementine.

It’s got the sweet, it’s got the salt, it’s got the tart and that not-really-sour but more of an umami flavor that just says tequila and without which you can’t call it a margarita.

And if you don’t have La Pinta handy, combining a high quality tequila with some pomegranate liqueur and you might be able to get close.

How are you celebrating National Margarita Day?

I was provided a sample of La Pinta Pomegranate Infused Tequila for review, all opinions are my own.