Classic Margarita Recipe Ingredients
To make this classic margarita recipe, you need 6 simple ingredients:
- Tequila Use any good-quality blanco tequila in this recipe. We like this brand, but feel free to use your favorite!
- Orange Liqueur We like Cointreau. Triple sec or Grand Marnier would work here too.
- Lime juice For the best results, squeeze fresh lime juice right before you make your cocktails. I like my margarita to be pretty tart, so I use an equal amount of lime juice and tequila.
- Something sweet I sweeten mine with agave syrup or homemade simple syrup.
- Salt For the rim of your glass. I use fine sea salt, but kosher salt could work here too.
- And ice! Because a great margarita is always on the rocks.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Expert Tips For The Best Margaritas
Fresh lime juice is a MUST for the best margaritas. Bottled juices contain preservatives that impact taste. It takes just a few seconds to squeeze your own lime juice. This handheld juicer is one of our favorite kitchen tools. It even has measuring marks so you can easily see how much juice you’ve squeezed.
Use good tequila. The tequila taste shines through in this drink. Use a reposado that is 100% agave.
Shake your drink over lots of ice. Shaking the drink for at least 30 seconds not only combines the juice with the alcohol but chills it at the same time. Cold drinks are the best drinks.
Grand Marnier is a premium orange liqueur and makes this drink a top-shelf cocktail that will have everyone asking for the recipe.
How To Make A Margarita With Grand Marnier
The process of mixing up this delightful beverage is so easy. Heres what youll do:
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Expert Tips And Tricks
- Reach up. For the Cadillac Margarita, opt for a top-shelf tequila and aim for reposado for the most flavor.
- Opt for fresh. The hand-squeezed lime juice will make a huge difference in the quality of the margarita.
- Shake well. Dont under-mix the cocktail. Shake until the mixer is very cold on the outside.
- Dont skip the salt. A salted rim is a must for this premium drink.
- All decked out. Garnishes make for a beautiful presentation. Opt for a slice of lime or orange.
What’s The Difference Between Grand Marnier And Cointreau
Grand Marnier and Cointreau are often considered the best brands of orange liqueur. While they’re both flavored with the same citrus fruit, 80 proof, and enjoyable on their own, there is a noticeable difference in taste. Grand Marnier has a cognac base and is flavored with bitter orange essence it’s rather sweet but in no way cloying. Cointreau uses a sugar beet alcohol base, is flavored with sweet and bitter orange peels, and is slightly drier and crisper.
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Why This Is The Best Margarita Recipe
- It is perfectly balanced in flavor, not too sweet, not too tangy, not too salty.
- Adding a little agave to the mix actually enhances the tequila and lime flavor and takes some of the bite out of a strong cocktail.
- Using quality ingredients like fresh lime juice, Cointreau and good Tequila makes it the BEST Margarita on the Rocks!
What’s The Best Salt For Rimming A Margarita
Avoid fine-grained salts, particularly iodized table salt, when rimming your margarita glass. The crystals are simply too small, get clumpy when wet, and create a very salty cocktail. For a much better drinking experience, choose a coarse salt, such as kosher salt or sea salt flakes. While there are plenty available and the flavors are fun, you don’t need a dedicated “margarita” salt it’s often just kosher or sea salt. You can even make your own flavored salts with citrus zest, herbs, and spices.
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How To Make A Cadillac Margarita
All it takes is a cocktail shaker and 5 minutes to make the best Cadillac margarita recipe. Simply:
Make An Agave Margarita Pitcher
You can make the agave margarita as a single drink , or you can also make it as a pitcher! A pitcher makes 8 drinks, and makes it much easier for entertaining so you dont have to shake up new drinks. Heres what to add to a pitcher:
- 1 ½ cups lime juice
- ½ cup Triple Sec or Cointreau
- ½ cup agave nectar
Add them together and stir. Then pour into glasses and serve! Head to the recipe below for how to make the agave margarita: and let us know what you think of this special drink. We love it as a fun spin on our classic margarita.
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Brief History Of The Margarita
According to cocktail historian David Wondrich, the margarita is merely a popular Mexican and American drink, the Daisy , remade with tequila instead of brandy, which became popular during Prohibition as people drifted over the border for alcohol. There is an account from 1936 of Iowa newspaper editor James Graham finding such a cocktail in Tijuana, years before any of the other margarita creation myths.
The Best Margarita Recipe For Cinco De Mayo
Excited for Cinco de Mayo? Us, too. Want to upgrade your margarita and make it more quickly, without buying boring Triple Sec? Right this way.
Repeat after me: One, two, four. 1-2-4: Memorize that ratio, and youve got the very best margarita recipeagave nectar, lime juice, and tequilaat your disposal at all times. Its called a Tommys Margarita, it involves only three ingredients, and it is divine.
Though its a beloved recipe in the cocktail community, purists will quibble about even calling Tommys a margarita. Theres no Triple Sec or Cointreau in there! Psshht. What it is is delicious, insanely simple, and a delight. The brainchild of San Francisco bartender Julio Bermejo, who concocted it more than two decades ago in an attempt to avoid triple secs overwhelming flavor, it has silky texture and a flavor that is a hymn to the blue agave plant at the heart of the drink. Think: lightly sweet balanced with pure sour, plus a seductive hit of tequila.
Fresh lime juice, agave nectar, and a solid, 100-percent agave tequila are the keys to this recipe. Ive shaken bunches of these up at parties, squeezing all the juice in advance, and everyone marveled that it was among the best margaritas theyd had. Theres something about removing that orange flavor of Cointreau or Triple Sec from the equation that just works, and cutting sugar out of the equation makes your bar cleaner, to boot.
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Skip The Lime Garnish
You probably have one or two extra limes lying around after making all that lovely fresh juice. Dont slice them into wedges to use as garnishes, no matter how natural that seems.
Why? Because your drink is perfectly balanced at this point. By adding a lime wedge, you are inviting someone to squeeze it into their drink. That will throw off the citric balance of the cocktail, Mor says. Instead, he suggests expressing an orange peel on top, giving the drink a citrusy aroma without the threat of more acid. Margaritas, like most things in life, are all about balance.
What Are The Tools I Need To Make A Skinny Margarita
. Add grapefruit juice, tequila, lime juice and cointreau to a cocktail shaker, and shake or stir until combined. When to serve an agave margarita The original margarita was created when dallas socialite margarita sames mixed her two favorite spirits, cointreau and tequila, together with lime juice while on vacation in acapulco back in 1948.
North americas most popular alcoholic beverage has a tangled history and perfect combination. We love it as a fun spin on our classic margarita. And let us know what you think of this special drink.
Taste, and if you would like it to be sweeter , stir in a half teaspoon of agave,. Pour salt onto a wide plate and place the wet rim of the glass upside down onto the plate of salt. Cointreau or other triple sec is no longer necessary.
To make a pitcher, simply stir all of the ingredients in a pitcher and refrigerate until ready to serve. Set the glass to the side. Rub the edge of the glass into the salt, then tap the glass to shake off the excess.
Pour ice into the glass to chill. 1½ ounces of 100% blue agave silver or blanco tequila A mere teaspoon of lemon juice brightens up the tequila and lime, and balances the sweetness of the agave nectar.
Taste, and if you would like it to be sweeter, stir in a half teaspoon of agave or simple syrup at a time,. While a classic margarita recipe doesnt include sweetener, feel free to sweeten with either orange juice, simple syrup, agave nectar, or maple syrup. Agave syrup the upstart
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Do You Need The Triple Sec
Yes! Triple Sec is a category of dry orange liqueur thats used in many cocktails, most famously the margarita. Cointreau is a type of Triple Sec, but Triple Sec is also a product in itself. .
The orange liqueur really rounds out the flavors here! When we tried this agave margarita without the triple sec, it tasted like something was missing. Add just ½ ounce and it makes a huge difference! If you dont have it on hand you can feel free to omit it, but we highly recommend using it.
How To Choose A Ripe Lime
I have limes on hand all the time because their delicious juice goes great with so many different foods. Fresh lime juic spruces up salad, chicken, all different types of beverages and so many other things. When selecting limes at the grocery store, look for these attritbutes to make sure you are getting the juiciest, ripest ones:
- First, smell the lime. Go ahead, put it right up to your nose and smell for a strong limey scent. The stronger the scent of lime, the riper the fruit will be.
- The darker green limes are typically riper and juicier, as well. The exception to this is if you are purchasing key limes. Key limes are smaller in size and have a more concentrated flavor and are typically used to make key lime pie or key lime cookies. With key limes, a yellow color indicates ripeness instead of a green color.
- The heavier the lime feels in your hands, the more juice is hiding inside!
- Gently squeeze the lime in your hands. The more give a lime has, the juicier itll be. If it is too squishy it may be past its prime, so be sure it doesnt give too much with a gentle squeeze.
Will you help add value to Pip and Ebby?If you make this recipe and love it, stop back and give it a 5-star rating and leave a comment. THANK YOU!
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Step : Prepare Serving Glasses
First, use ½ of one of your limes and run it along the edges of the glasses. Dip the glass in sea salt. Fill the glass to the top with ice.
Another delicious way to salt the rim is to get a little bit of agave nectar on your finger and run it along the rim of the glass and then dip that into the salt. The agave actually helps your salt stay on the rim for much longer!
What To Serve With A Margarita
Enjoy your margarita with your favorite Mexican or Tex Mex fare. If Im making these for a party or happy hour, I always serve them with tortilla chips, salsa, and lots of guac. Theyd also be fantastic with mango or pineapple salsa or my seven layer dip. For more appetizer ideas, check out this post!
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What Is Agave Nectar Whats The Difference Vs Agave Syrup
Agave nectar is a sweetener made from the agave plant. It tastes like a combination between maple syrup and honey. Its made from several types of agave, including the same type thats used to make tequila .
Whats the difference between agave nectar vs agave syrup? Agave nectar is produced similar to how maple syrup is made: the sap from the center of the plant is extracted and boiled down. In contrast, agave syrup is technically modified similar to the way high fructose corn syrup is made. However, many people use the terms as synonyms so they are often used interchangeably, even on product labeling.
Grand Marnier Margarita Ingredients
For two servings of this Grand Marnier margarita, youll need:
- ½ cup of tequila
- cup of Grand Marnier
- ¼ cup of lime juice
- 1 tablespoon of agave
To scale up to make a pitcher of this Grand Marnier margarita, youll need:
- 2 cups of tequila
- 1 cups of Grand Marnier
- 1 cup of lime juice
- 4 tablespoons of agave
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What Type Of Tequila For Margaritas
Choosing the best tequila for your margarita is super important. There are plenty of types of tequila that are top shelf and tasty on their own but that do not taste the best in margaritas.
We recommend using a silver, blanco or white variety of tequila for optimal flavor. These types of tequila are transparent much like vodka and are bottled directly after being distilled, so they are either aged for a short period or not aged at all. Here is a list of our favorite tequilas, in order from most to least favorite :
- Skinny Margaritas from Nourish and Fete
Why This Recipe Works
While many of you might have become accustomed to buying pre-made margarita mixes at the grocery store, Im here to stage an intervention. PUT THAT PLASTIC BOTTLE DOWN! This easy recipe for a real, delicious, and authentic frozen margarita takes just five ingredients, one of which is ice.
The bottled mix might shave a few seconds off your margarita prep, but I can guarantee that spending that little bit of extra time is so worth it. Once you try how bright and refreshing a real margarita is, I can basically promise that youll be as peeved as I am next time you order a marg at a restaurant and get the artificial pre-mixed junk.
My frozen margarita has only 1/2 ounce of agave syrup and some Cointreau to sweeten it, meaning its *basically* a skinny margarita. A typical large blended margarita can clock in at more than 500 calories, this homemade margarita has just 300 calories, so you dont even have to feel bad about reaching for that second one!
Frozen margaritas are also a snap to make. Aside from peeling a lime, theres no real work involved! Just dump everything into a high-powered blender at let the magic happen. Pretty soon youll feel like youre on the beach digging your toes in the sand.
So, grab your four cocktail ingredients and your blender and lets get this fiesta started, shall we??
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Who Really Invented The Margarita
Asking someone to pinpoint the actual time and place that the Margarita was first created is a controversial subject. Although many people recognize 1948 as the year the year the Margarita was first introduced, there are other claims that predate that time that also bear investigating. Lets examine each of the legends behind the creation of the Margarita in chronological order.
Many people believe that the Margarita was born on Jalisco, Mexico, where blue agave tequila has been produced for centuries. This proto-Margarita was a version of the Daisy cocktail, substituting tequila for brandy. Daisy in Spanish translates to Margarita.
An early legend says that a Mexico City bartender named Willie first created the Margarita in 1934 at the Matamoros area restaurant Los Dos Republicas for a patron named Marguerite Hemery. Another story says that in 1936, bar owner Daniel Negrete presented the drink as a wedding day gift for his son to be sister-in-law, Margarita. According to Daniels son, Salvatore, this version of the Margarita was equal parts lime juice, tequila, and orange liqueur, served over crushed ice.
Another 1938 creation story spun by the Jose Cuervo company says that showgirl Rita De La Rosa moon lighted as a bartender and created the drink on the fly.
National Margarita Day is February 22nd each year here in the United States.
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