Tangy, slightly salty and wonderfully fresh, the Margarita is one of the best-known tequila cocktails in the world. This Margarita recipe follows the classic version: tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice, shaken hard and served very cold in a coupe with a salt-frosted rim. Its exact origins are still debated, with several bars in Mexico and the southern United States claiming it around the 1930s and 1940s. It makes a lovely aperitif, and its balance makes it an excellent measuring exercise.
Ingredients
- 50 ml blanco tequila (ideally 100% agave)
- 20 ml triple sec (orange liqueur)
- 15 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
- Very cold ice cubes
- Fine or flaked salt and a lime wedge for the rim
The tools
Method
- Chill the coupe in the freezer for about ten minutes.
- Rub a lime wedge around the outer half of the rim, then dip it gently into a plate of salt: salting only half lets everyone choose to drink with or without salt.
- Measure the tequila, triple sec and lime juice with the jigger and pour them into the small tin of the shaker.
- Fill two thirds with ice, close the shaker and shake hard for 12 to 15 seconds, until the metal is well frosted.
- Strain through the Hawthorne strainer into the salt-rimmed coupe, taking care not to wet the salt.
- Serve at once, with a thin lime wheel if you like.
A Margarita comes down to a few millilitres: our guide to measuring cocktails with a jigger explains how to measure accurately, and the complete guide to the cocktail shaker covers the technique. For straining, find all our models in the strainers section.
The bartender’s tip
Taste and adjust to your limes, whose acidity varies a lot from one season to the next: if the Margarita seems too sharp, add 5 ml of agave syrup or sugar syrup. For the rim, choose fine or flaked salt rather than coarse salt, which falls into the glass and makes the cocktail too salty. If you like a perfectly smooth texture, also strain through a fine strainer, as for the Daiquiri, its close rum cousin.
Variations
Tommy’s Margarita replaces the triple sec with agave syrup and is served over ice in a rocks glass. The frozen version, blended with crushed ice, is more of a summer drink. For an alcohol-free version, shake 40 ml lime juice, 20 ml freshly squeezed orange juice, 15 ml agave syrup and 40 ml cold water, then serve in the same salt-rimmed coupe: the sour, sweet and salty balance stays intact.
Photo: ccnull.de Bilddatenbank, CC BY 2.0, via flickr
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