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Margarita

Sours · Tequila · IBA official

Margarita

Agave, lime and orange liqueur, shaken bright with a salted edge

Tequila's peppery agave, fresh lime and orange liqueur, shaken hard and served ice-cold. Bright and tart with just enough sweetness, while a half-salted rim sharpens every sip. Made for warm evenings, tacos and anything off the grill.

Make this in 3D
Glass
Coupe
Ice
Up (no ice)
Technique
Shaken · Double-strained
Difficulty
Intermediate
Time
4 min
Strength
≈ 26% ABV

Ingredients

Coupe
  • 50 mlTequila blanco1¾ oz
  • 20 mlTriple sec (orange liqueur)¾ oz
  • 15 mlFresh lime juice½ oz
  • GarnishSalt rim + Lime wheel

≈ 106 ml served · 2.2 standard drinks

Substitutes: Dry orange curaçao can stand in for Triple sec (orange liqueur). Fresh lemon juice can stand in for Fresh lime juice.

Method

  1. 1

    Chill a coupe, then moisten half of the outer rim with lime and roll it in fine salt.

  2. 2

    Add the tequila, triple sec and lime juice to a shaker.

  3. 3

    Fill with ice and shake hard for 10–12 seconds.

  4. 4

    Double strain into the chilled coupe and garnish with a lime wheel.

Learn it step by step

History

Its origin is genuinely disputed: competing stories credit bartenders and hosts in Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez and Acapulco in the late 1930s and 1940s. Many historians see it as a tequila take on the older Daisy family of drinks – margarita is Spanish for daisy. The recipe was in American print by the early 1950s.

Origin
Mexico
First recorded
1940

Bartender's notes

  • Salting only the outside of half the rim keeps salt out of the drink and lets each sip be taken with or without it.
  • Dry orange curaçao in place of triple sec gives a rounder, less sugary Margarita.
  • Prefer it on the rocks? Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass instead.
CitrusSourRefreshingStrong

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