Margarita

Article by Emily Saladino

Every home bartender should know how to make a margarita. One of the most popular cocktails in America, margaritas are bright, balanced and endlessly customizable.

Classic Margarita Ingredients

Lime juice: The key to our classic margarita recipe is to squeeze fresh lime juice. Its bright tang gives margaritas their signature sweet-sour balance without the cloying sweetness of many packaged margarita mixes.

Tequila: Here are some of our spirits expert’s favorite bottles.

Triple sec: This orange liqueur provides sweetness and viscosity. Widely available brands include Cointreau and Grand Marnier.

Simple syrup: It’s easy to make simple syrup at home. Store leftover syrup in the fridge for up to one month.

Salt: We recommend using kosher salt for the cocktail’s rim due to its clean flavor and consistently sized crystals.

What’s the Best Tequila for Margaritas?

The recipe developers in Food Network Kitchen like blanco tequila made from 100% blue agave for margaritas. Its bright, vegetal flavor offsets the sweetness of the simple syrup and orange liqueur.

In recent years, margaritas with mezcal, another type of agave spirit from Mexico, have become increasingly popular. To make a mezcal margarita, swap the tequila for an equal amount of mezcal joven, and tweak the amount of lime juice and simple syrup to taste.

How to Make Other Types of Margaritas

Once you master a classic recipe for making margaritas, it’s easy to put your own spin on it. Add diced fresh fruit for an easy watermelon margarita, or swap the lime-salt-sugar rim for chipotle and ancho chili to make this spicy margarita recipe. Break out the blender for this frozen strawberry margarita, or try our low-sugar take on the popular “skinny margarita” recipe. Prefer a sweeter cocktail? Substitute agave for simple syrup to make a Tommy’s Margarita, many bartenders’ go-to margarita recipe.

How to Make a Pitcher of Margaritas

Making margaritas for a crowd? Multiply the quantities of all ingredients by eight and combine them in a large pitcher over ice. Stir briefly, then pour into chilled glasses over fresh ice. This will serve 8, but you can scale it up or down.