Make THE BEST Margarita for National Margarita Day
It’s National Margarita Day and we want to share our favourite way to make the eponymous cocktail. There are countless variations on the margarita, from slushy mango to spicy chocolate, but our favourite remains the classic lime margarita. Even with the classic, there is no “right” way of making a margarita. The margarita is a dance of ingredients and ratios and it is up to your palate and sensibilities to decide what makes it “The Best”.
That being said, after years of experimentation, we have dialled in a margarita that we think is The Best. We make a lot of them around Refined Society HQ, and this recipe has never failed to illicit responses like: “damn, that’s really good!”, even from folks who think they don’t like margaritas.
Before we get into the ratios, let’s delve into the ingredients:
TEQUILA
This is a very tequila-forward recipe, so it’s imperative that you use high quality tequila. We demand 100% Agave, traditionally produced blanco tequila. Blanco is the purest form of the spirit, and presents the boldest agave character. A good blanco is clean, refreshing and zesty. Sometimes we hear people describe spirits as “good for mixing”. That statement doesn’t apply here. If you have a tequila that would be enjoyable to sip neat, it will make an enjoyable margarita. One of our favourite tequilas for margaritas is Alida blanco. Alida has an inviting palate with tons of agave presence that stands up and sings with the other ingredients. Other blancos we recommend for margaritas are: Suerte, 7 Leguas, Cascahuin,Tapatio and G4. Depending on who we’re serving, we vary the amount of tequila by half an oz. We like a full 2oz, but dial down to 1.5oz if somebody likes it a little less boozy.
LIME
Fresh limes! Only fresh! We understand that quality, fresh limes can be hard to come by sometimes, in some areas…. but, there is no substitute. When you are buying limes, give them a little squeeze. If the skin feels thick, or it feels like they are dry inside, you want to keep searching until you find the ones that feel a bit like firm water balloons. The heavier limes are juicier. The juicier the better!
COINTREAU
We have played around with many different orange liqueurs in our margaritas, from various triple secs, to Gran Marnier, to no liqueur at all. We’ve tried orange bitters and zest and freshly squeezed juice. In the end, it was a small amount of Cointreau that made our taste buds sing. Cointreau adds a nice balanced hint of bitter and sweet that doesn’t get in the way of the tequila, rather lifts it up into the sunshine.
AGAVE SYRUP
Again, we played with different choices, including cutting out sweetener all together. We settled on a splash of light, organic, blue-agave syrup which gives the right balance of sweetness to the mix. Maybe because it shares a source with tequila, but we find agave syrup plays the best with the flavours of the agave spirit and the tartness of the lime. We prefer the lighter variety, as darker agave syrups have a bolder flavour that can be imposing on the cocktail. Like the Cointreau, the agave syrup is used sparingly, like a quiet rhythm section to the dynamic duet of tequila and lime.
TAJIN CLASSICO
For the rim! This was a recommend from our friend @pbandwatches and it put the crown on the queen of margaritas. This humble, salty, spicy, citrussy seasoning is the perfect complement to the fabulousness going on within the glass. You can always use a nice sea salt if you want to play it safe, but do yourself a favour and try the rim with Tajin.
Okay, now that we’ve got to know the ingredients, here’s the recipe:
- 2oz of premium, 100% agave, blanco tequila (or as little as 1.5 oz for those who want a lighter touch)
- Juice of one whole lime, freshly squeezed.
- ½ oz of Cointreau
- ½ oz of light agave syrup
- Slice of lime for garnish
- Rim a cocktail glass with Tajin and garnish with lime slice
- Add five ice cubes to the glass
- Squeeze lime juice into cocktail shaker
- Add tequila, Cointreau, agave syrup
- Add ice and shake until the shaker is cold and frosty.
- Pour, strained, into the prepared glass.
- Salud!
This recipe can be easily doubled, tripled, or quadrupled to serve multiple folks, as long as you have a big enough cocktail shaker. We hope you enjoy this margarita and encourage you to experiment with the ratios and ingredients to make it your own. Try different rims and garnishes, or try adding or subtracting as you wish. Or, just make it like this and enjoy! Happy National Margarita Day!
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