🍸 Margarita

Blanco tequila, fresh lime, and Cointreau — the world's most ordered cocktail, only good with fresh juice.

4 min
Serves 1
Shaken
Rocks / Coupe
  • 2 oz Blanco tequila (100% agave — Espolòn, Olmeca Altos, or El Jimador)
  • 1 oz Fresh lime juice
  • ¾ oz Triple sec or Cointreau
  • Coarse salt — for the rim
  • Lime wheel to garnish

  1. 1
    Salt the rimRun a lime wedge around the outer rim only (not the inside) of a rocks glass or coupe. Dip the outside of the rim into coarse salt. This way you can choose each sip with or without salt.
  2. 2
    Fill glass with iceAdd fresh ice to the glass.
  3. 3
    Combine in shakerAdd tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau to a shaker with ice.
  4. 4
    Shake hardShake for 12–15 seconds. The margarita needs to be very cold.
  5. 5
    Strain over iceStrain into the salted glass over fresh ice.
  6. 6
    GarnishAdd a lime wheel to the rim.

Fresh Lime is Non-Negotiable

The Margarita's origin is disputed — various creators have been proposed in Mexico and California in the 1930s–1940s. Enrique Bastate Gutierrez claims to have created it in Tijuana around 1941. Danny Herrera made a version at Rancho La Gloria for actress Marjorie King in 1938. Carlos 'Danny' Herrera gets the most credit today. It doesn't matter: the Margarita is now the most ordered cocktail in America.

The salt rim is not just decoration — salt suppresses bitterness and amplifies sweet and sour notes. The bitter edge of the tequila recedes, the lime tastes brighter, and the Cointreau sweeter. Never use bottled lime juice; the citric acid in bottled juice behaves differently and lacks the aromatic complexity of fresh lime zest.

🌶️ Spicy Margarita

Muddle 3–5 jalapeño slices in the shaker before adding the other ingredients. Double-strain. See our full Spicy Margarita recipe.

🧊 Frozen Margarita

Blend all ingredients with 1 cup of crushed ice. See our full Frozen Margarita recipe.

🍃 Skinny Margarita

Replace triple sec with ½ oz agave nectar and reduce to 2:1:½ ratio. Lower calories, cleaner agave flavour. See our full Skinny Margarita recipe.