A margarita is one of those classic, foundational cocktails that every home bartender should master. Yet anyone who orders them even semi-regularly at restaurants knows to expect a moment of suspense before that first sip. Will it be a sugar bomb? Seemingly devoid of tequila? Tinged with a chemical aftertaste from a (shudder) artificial mix? Or will it be salt-kissed, agave-laced, and bracingly lime-forward with just a hint of sweetness to round out the acid so you don’t quite feel like you’re eroding your stomach lining—or in other words, perfect?
No one should settle for a mediocre marg. So let’s break out the citrus squeezers and take some notes from the best in the business.
Memorize these proportions.
According to Tyson Buhler, the national director of food and beverage for Gin & Luck (the hospitality arm of the Death & Co. cocktail empire), the most classic interpretation of a margarita is what’s known as the “daisy” version. (Daisies are a family of cocktails that include a spirit, a liqueur, and citrus; margarita means “daisy” in Spanish.) Buhler shares his rock-solid formula below—and since Death & Co. is one of the most respected names in mixology, you can take it to el banco.
• 1½ oz. blanco tequila
• ¾ oz. Cointreau orange liqueur
• ¾ oz. fresh lime juice
• ¼ oz. simple syrup
Or maybe these.
Buhler also likes a variation known as the Tommy’s Margarita, which happens to be the favorite of Alba Huerta, the James Beard Award–winning owner of Houston’s celebrated Julep cocktail bar. Created by Julio Bermejo of Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco, “it strips the cocktail down to the most flavorful elements and highlights the characteristics of the tequila,” Huerta says.
• 2 oz. blanco tequila
• 1 oz. fresh lime juice
• ½ oz. agave nectar
There are worse ways to spend an evening than mixing up both versions and deciding which one you will be your standby.
Treat it like a proper cocktail.
One mistake Huerta sees people make is stirring the margarita like a punch when batching it in a pitcher. “While it might taste fine, it truly shines when shaken,” she explains. “Shaking does four essential things: It mixes the ingredients thoroughly, chills the drink, introduces air for texture, and adds just the right amount of dilution. That technique is important in unlocking the optimal flavor.”
After shaking the contents with ice, Buhler—who oversees the Municipal Bar at Savannah’s forthcoming Municipal Grand hotel—will strain the drink into a double old-fashioned glass over fresh cubed ice and garnish it with a lime wheel and a half rim of salt.
But don’t break the bank.
This is not the time to crack open your bottle of top-shelf, artisanal añejo in hopes of picking out notes of black pepper and candied orange peel. “The tequila provides the punch,” says Eddie Hernandez, founding chef at the James Beard–lauded Georgia restaurant chain Taqueria del Sol. A decent 100 percent agave blanco tequila will do the job fine. “There was a small mercado in Laredo, Texas, we would always stop in that used Hornitos,” he says. “To this day I still think it’s the best margarita anywhere.”
Watch out for the agent orange.
Speaking of packing a punch, Buhler cautions that Cointreau has the same ABV as most tequilas (40 percent), so even though it’s sweet, you shouldn’t treat it like a sweetener. “Try to add more liqueur to the lime and you’ll find yourself with a drink that becomes completely out of balance,” he says. And maybe a killer hangover.
Say yes to salt. (No wait, hear us out.)
Regardless of your stance on direct lip contact with chunky crystals, the fact remains that salt amplifies flavor. For those who prefer an unrimmed glass, Buhler and Huerta suggest adding a dash of salt or a few drops of saline solution directly to the liquid. “That subtle salinity brightens the citrus, enhances the acidity, and wakes up your taste buds,” Huerta says.
But above all, make it how you like it.
While a well-crafted margarita can hold its own against any “serious” cocktail, what elevates this drink to icon status is the sense of laid-back fun we associate with it. If you’ve tried the recipes above and found them too sweet or dry for your taste, that’s not heresy; a margarita is only good if you’re enjoying it. Take it from Hernandez: Taqueria del Sol pours plenty of classic margs, but when he’s mixing one at home, he uses tequila, Cointreau, fresh lime juice, and a soda like Squirt or Sprite—a fizzy riff popular in Mexico. Is that a paloma? Soda-rita? Does it really matter? “I don’t drink margaritas that often, and when I do, I’m very picky,” he says. We’ll raise a glass to that.
