How to Make a Margarita

In just a few minutes you’ll be able to make the perfect margarita.

It’ll be delicious, because…

You’ll know about the best ingredients, best Tequila, and why you don’t use a blender, mix or limeade for this classic Margarita recipe.

You just need the correct ingredients and the proper ratio of liquor to the tart and sweet components. Beyond that, how to make a margarita in its most basic form simply requires a balance of 100% Agave Tequila, high quality orange liqueur, and fresh lime juice – shaken, not stirred.

Cocktail Fact: The Margarita is a part of the New Orleans Sours sub-classification of Sour drinks which includes fine beverages like the Cosmopolitan, Metropolitan and the Sidecar. It’s the use of orange liqueur (such as Cointreau or Triple Sec) that separates the margarita from other sours like the Bourbon Sour, Brandy Sour, etc. This family of cocktails all includes citrus juice and a variety of sources for its sweetness. We can thank Gary “Gaz” Regan for The Joy of Mixology where he defines and categorizes drinks like the Margarita.

Classic Margarita Recipe

Great for single servings as a homemade margarita or a delicious and simple treat when hosting friends for drinks and conversation.

This is the foundation for a great Margarita. But… Want to know what makes it even better?

When you use the best ingredients (learn more below) this simple margarita recipe is the foundation for a top shelf margarita. All you need to do now is experiment and perfect it to your taste and preferences.

But before you do, go ahead and watch this short video to see how simple it is.

Simple Steps to Make this Margarita:

Pour 1 shot of Tequila into your cocktail shaker. For a stronger taste, increase to 1.5 or 2 shots.

Now top it off by pouring 1 and a half shots of triple sec or Cointreau into your cocktail shaker.

Cut one or two limes in half and juice to produce about 1.25 ounces of fresh lime juice. You can use a citrus press and pour into a shot glass, jigger or directly into your cocktail shaker.

Now scoop about a cup of ice into your cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for about 15 shakes. The shake matters! It helps infuse flavor!

Use a wedge of Lime and run the rim of your chilled drinking glass.

Rim your drinking glass with salt – either all the way around, or on one side.

Now pour through a strainer into a glass with a few cubes of ice.

Now garnish with a lime and enjoy your fresh margarita.

Additional Information on Ingredients

The following ingredients are discussed in order to address the common questions people have about the foundational ingredients for this simple margarita. This is especially helpful information for experimenting, substituting, and adjusting to your specific tastes.

Essential Ingredients:
Lime
Triple Sec / Cointreau
Tequila

Optional Ingredients:
Lemon
Sweetener
Sugar / Salt
Ice

Limes:

The fresh juice of the lime is central to the sour flavor of this cocktail. However, limes can vary in flavor depending on origin, season and variety so taste the lime juice before you finish out your drink. The goal is refreshing citrus flavor rather than overly sour, throat burning, experience.

You should use a citrus press and freshly squeeze the lime for each drink or several in bulk (if you plan to drink several in a few hours).

Do not keep squeezed lime juice for more than 24 hours. It will go bad!

The Persian lime is the most commonly used and is recommended for this recipe. Some suggest using Key limes which are more tart and bitter especially if you are seeking an authentic Mexican flavor.

Triple sec / Cointreau

It is this orange-flavored liqueur that brings the sweet notes to this simple margarita recipe. It also carries a 15 – 40% alcohol proof. If you are interested in lifting the booziness of the drink, you may want to up the Triple sec.

However, some people prefer no orange-flavored liqueur at all. Preferring the dominate flavor of the tequila – only, which can be covered up when you add Triple sec. Additionally, some people are sensitive to the budget and will avoid the added expense by leaving out the Triple sec.

You’ll find a few brands such as Curacao, Grand Marnier and Cointreau that are the preferred pick for this cocktail.
According to Wikipedia:

Triple sec, originally Curaçao triple sec, is a variety of Curaçao liqueur, an orange-flavoured liqueur made from the dried peels of bitter and sweet orange.

Cointreau is a brand of triple sec (an orange-flavoured liqueur) produced in Saint-Barthélemy-d’Anjou, France.

Grand Marnier is an orange-flavored liqueur created in 1880 by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle. It is made from a blend of Cognac brandy, distilled essence of bitter orange, and sugar.

Curaçao is a liqueur flavored with the dried peel of the laraha citrus fruit, grown on the island of Curaçao. A non-native plant similar to an orange, the laraha developed from the sweet Valencia orange transplanted by Spanish explorers in 1527. The liqueur has an orange-like flavor with varying degrees of bitterness. It is naturally colorless, but is often given artificial coloring, most commonly blue or orange, which confers an exotic appearance to cocktails and other mixed drinks.

Tequila:

The flavor of the Tequila is essential to the margarita and can greatly affect it’d drinkability and tastiness.
What you need for this classic margarita recipe is 100% Agava Tequila.

The 100% Agave (or 100% Blue Agave) is an important distinction because it means it is a pure distillation of Tequila with no additives and has a natural sweetness to it. Perfect for your margarita!

Silver, Blanco, Plata, White, Platinum Tequila’s are clear, un-aged distillations of 100% Agave Tequila. Confirm the “100% Agava” classification on the label.

As a rule of thumb, avoid any of the golden-colored Tequilas for this recipe.

Unlike a 100% Agava, the golden color could be an important signal that you have a Mixto Tequila (often just labeled “Tequila”). Mixto Tequila will have a minimum of 51% Agave and the remaining 49% will be comprised of sugars or syrups, flavoring, or other additives. Bars and restaurants will often use Mixto Tequilas for their mixed drinks, so you may have had it and thought it’s what you use for a great margarita… But it’s not recommended.

So, all Gold Tequila is bad?

Not necessarily.

You can have gold Tequila that is 100% Agave classification (like añejo or extra añejo) and it be gold in color. These Tequilas are 100% agave and aged, like whiskey, in wood barrels which produces golden colors, woody flavors and complexity in texture and taste.

For a margarita, don’t grab your slow sipping añejo (which is aged from 1-3 years) or the extra añejo (which is aged more than three years). Leave that for drinking neat, slowly and by itself at room temperature.

Since it is relatively young in age, you could use the golden-colored Reposado (which is aged from 2 up to 11 months) for your Margarita.

If you want to know more, go here to learn how to pick the best Tequila for Margaritas.

Lemons:

Not recommended, but certainly a reasonable citrus substitute that works – especially if you’re doing homemade margaritas and have run out of limes! Lemons tend to have less aggressive sourness and therefore can be just what you need if you’re modifying this recipe to your taste preferences.

You can also have a blend of lemon and lime with a simple sugar syrup and it becomes a homemade sweet-and-sour mix.

Sweetener:

Agave nectar is the most common sweetener for margaritas. The amount varies to your taste, so start with a small amount and sample to your liking!

You may also try honey or your own simple syrup. To make your own simple syrup just mix 2 cups of water to 1 to 2 cups of sugar and heat until sugar dissolves.

Salt vs Sugar:

This is for rimming your margarita glass.

Generally, it’s recommended to rim only one half of the glass for guests, in case they aren’t into it. But do what you like!

The best salt to use is either kosher salt or sea salt. Kosher salt is slightly saltier. Never use table salt – it’s to fine-grained and will be very very salty.

To rim the glass, just use a wedge of lime and run it around the rim of your glass. Then gently dip into the salt or sugar mix.

Sugar or even powdered sugar offers a sweet alternative to the salt.

Ice:

Bigger cubes of ice in your drink are best. Smaller ice will dissolve quickly and dilute your margarita.

Remember, put all your ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously! Don’t stir. Shaking will liven up the flavors in your drink.

Also, be sure to use fresh ice. If you have ice from the icebox, it may have absorbed the scents from your frozen leftovers!

Margarita Review

As a classic margarita, you really can’t go wrong with this one. You’ll find that your choice of Tequila and the amount of Cointreau will have a lot to do with the final flavor profile of this delicious drink. To our taste, this was a great treat for a hot summer day.

The Best Tasting Margarita May Require Some Experimenting

Everyone has different taste and even though this is a classic margarita, it doesn’t mean it’s exactly what you want. That’s ok! When your making homemade margaritas, you can experiment until it’s just right.

So there you have it.
The perfect, classic margarita recipe and everything you need to know on how to make a margarita like a pro.

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What Every Margarita Drinker Needs to Know:
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– how to make a frozen margarita 1,300
– best tequila for margaritas 2400
– best margarita mix 2900

The Essential Supplies:
– bartender supplies 1000
– margaritaville blender 4400
– frozen margarita machine 1900
– margarita machine for sale 1300