Unlike my piņa colada recipe, which was the result of years of experimentation, my original margarita recipe was mostly plagiarism. Every time I had a good margarita at a bar, I would sweet-talk the bartender into giving me his or her recipe. I then mixed and matched their ingredients until I hit a homerun. Among all of my "chick drinks" (you do know that that's all I drink, right, no scotch or bourbon for me) this is a favorite.

Here's the recipe (actually two, because I give you the original and a simpler one). For both, I strongly recommend that you start with tequila that's been stored in the freezer and with mix that's been stored in the refrigerator. As indicated later, you will also need the coarse salt used in margaritas. Here's the original recipe:

• Ten ounces of any name-brand tequila (I buy Sauza gold for the price).
• Two and a half ounces of any brand triple-sec.
• Two and a half ounces of Cointreau.
• Three and a half ounces of lemon juice (can be from a bottle, like ReaLemon).
• Twelve ounces of Sweet and Sour Mix by Mr. & Mrs. T (the people who make the bloody mary mix). Do not buy their margarita mix, get the Sweet and Sour Mix.

And here's the simpler one, far easier to make and just as good:

• Ten ounces of any name-brand tequila (I buy Sauza gold for the price).
• Twenty-four ounces of Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix.
• Six ounces of lemon juice (can be from a bottle, like ReaLemon).

After the glasses are rimmed with salt as indicated in the next paragraph, pour these ingredients into a container at least a half-gallon in size and then add 2 or 3 ice cubes. Cap the container and shake vigorously. Put several ice cubes into the stem glasses you previously rimmed with salt and pour the well-shaken mix over the ice cubes. Put the container with left-over mix in the freezer or refrigerator for the next refill, but again shake vigorously before pouring.

I like to have the glasses rimmed with salt before I start mixing the ingredients, so I'm ready to pour as soon as I've shaken the mixture. The salt rimming is best done by putting 2 or 3 drops of lemon juice on a plate and then holding each stem glass sideways and rotating the outside of the rim against the drops of lemon. The idea is to get only the outside of the rim wet. Then you dip the rim of the glass into the shallow container of margarita salt.

In the original recipe, the Mr. & Mrs. T Sweet and Sour Mix, aside from flavoring the drink, contains the equivalent of egg whites, which causes the drink to foam, and the Cointreau, although expensive and not part of the typical margarita recipe, adds considerably to the original recipe. The simpler recipe, despite the lack of Cointreau and triple-sec, tastes terrific, perhaps a tribute to Jose Cuervo's chemists ability to instill these tastes within their mix.

These recipes will make 6 to 8 drinks. If you make a larger batch, make sure to use an even bigger container for the shaking, perhaps a one-gallon size. It's important, when shaking the mix, that the container be not more than half full, that there be a couple of pieces of ice inside, and that you shake vigorously.

Enjoy!