classic margarita.
the best way to make a margarita, that’s it.
Makes: 1 cocktail Prep time: 1 minutes Build Time: 02 minutes jump to recipe.
It’s really hard to beat a classic margarita. Refreshing, a little sour, a little sweet — a little bit of everything, and it even has a little salt to balance it all out.
If you’re anything like me, you started your margarita journey sipping pre-mades from Jose Cuervo or worse. Bars didn’t even make them in college, and if they did, it was some sort of watery sour mix with a hint of tequila. You might have eventually graduated to real margaritas at a taco Tuesday somewhere super white, realizing at last that hey, margaritas are pretty good.
If you stopped there, I urge you to dive just a little bit deeper. Find a place that specializes in margaritas — if you can manage it, New Mexico really knows what they’re doing with tequila, and all of the surrounding southwestern areas are going to make a mean marg. Obviously, we can’t all just board a plane in the name of margaritas (I mean, I wish), so I can also share with you how to make a good one at home.
The thing about margaritas is that bars have to shortcut it. Busy places use a sour mix. Cheap places use bottled lime juice. The best places more than likely batch it. None of these are necessarily bad, but a freshly shaken marg will change your life.
Why here, on this page? And not on liquor.com? Good question. You’re already here, so might as well keep reading. I like mine sweet, but in my opinion, balanced. Fresh limes always. Too much tequila.
If you’ve never made margaritas before, hopefully this page can serve as a guide on how to do that well. If you are already a cocktail expert, hopefully you like the pictures.
Making this spirit-free
I’ll say this a lot: I don’t really care for spirit-less spirits. I haven’t found any I love yet, so I don’t even want to suggest it. Spirit-free margs aren’t hard and follow a similar setup to the tequila version. If you’re going totally spirit-free, follow the recipe below:
2 limes, juiced
1 ounce agave
1 1/2 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
1 ounce coconut water
sparkling water, to top
Shake the lime juice, agave, coconut water, and orange juice with ice until frothy, then pour over ice. Top with sparkling water. For low-ABV, swap the orange juice for triple sec or add a few dashes of orange bitters.
By the way, you don’t have to top with sparkling water if you don’t prefer it. I just find it dilutes the juices and adds a nice mouthfeel to spirit-free drinks.
classic margarita ingredients
tequila: Tequila blanco is the move here, and you want something pretty nice. Like a lot of classic cocktails, there aren’t many ingredients, so using quality versions of each makes a big difference. I don’t think I’d ever make a margarita from, say, Clase Azul, but I tend to use Espolon as a baseline. Tequila shouldn’t be unbearable to sip on its own. If it is, it doesn’t belong in your margarita. For this recipe, I used a recent favorite, Lalo Tequila.
limes: Grab a lime juicer and squeeze out the couple ounces you need — it’s only about 2 limes. If you’re really in a pinch, lime juice from a bottle will work, but it just doesn’t taste the same. I’m not being snobby about this; try it side by side, you’ll see.
triple sec: I use Cointreau when I have it, and you could use Grand Marnier if that’s what you have instead. I have most definitely used cheap triple secs and not noticed a difference — that’s one thing you can cheap out on (though, cointreau is in practically everything. You’d improve half your cocktails by grabbing a bottle).
agave: My hot take: when people say their margarita doesn’t quite taste right, it’s because they used sugar or honey instead of agave. Okay. I know that sounds ridiculous because honey and agave taste… basically the same. But agave nectar is made from the same plant as tequila, and it’s been said that that’s the reason it’s so much better for tequila-based drinks. I’m in favor of believing that. It’s about the same price as honey and found either near the honey or in the baking aisle.
salt: A margarita is technically a sour (acid, spirit, sweetener) and with it being made with lime juice, it’s actually a pretty sour drink. Salt helps cut twist-your-face sourness. Use Kosher salt. To make it pretty, zest lime, lemon, or orange into the salt before rimming.
classic margarita pairing options
Unlike palomas, I actually like margaritas with dinner. Here are some meals and apps I would enjoy a margarita with:
guacamole and chips
chipotle salmon tacos
carne asada
blackened whitefish
cilantro-lime rice
