The Perfect Margarita Recipe

You won’t find margarita mix in The Weary Chef’s house, only this Fresh Margarita!

When I started this blog way back in January 2013, I posted a cocktail recipe every Thursday in preparation for Friday Happy Hour. I kicked things off with my all-time favorite: this authentic, perfect margarita. When I talk about Fiesta Night at our house (our weekly Mexican dinner), half the fun is the food, and the other half is the cocktails, typically these babies.

You will not find margarita mix in my kitchen. These authentic cocktails are tart, strong, and delicious. I strongly prefer a generously salted rim, but salt or don’t salt according to your taste. I mix these up in a 2-cup glass measuring cup, which is the reason for the metric measurements. This cocktail is easy to mix using the metric side of the measuring cup as a guide.

If you like real margaritas, this is the recipe for you. All you need are limes, an orange, tequila, a good orange liqueur, and agave nectar. Usually a house margarita at a restaurant uses sweet and sour mix, cheap tequila, and triple sec. I’ve certainly had my fair share of house margaritas, but I always think the real deal tastes better at home! When you try the recipe, I think you will agree. Cheers!

Ingredients in a fresh margarita

This margarita recipe uses all fresh ingredients and is filled with wonderful citrus flavor. You will be able to taste the difference right away. I included the rough measurements in ounces in case that is easier.

• 1.25oz fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1oz fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1/2oz Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or another orange brandy
• 2oz blanco tequila or silver tequila that is 100% agave
• 1/2oz light agave nectar or you can use homemade Demerara syrup

Tools needed to make a great margarita at home

In order to make a great margarita, and many other great cocktails, at home I recommend have a few vital bar tools. When I originally made this recipe I used a measuring cup and stored vigorously. I have since switched to a shaker and I will say it made a big difference and the cocktail was even better.

• Cocktail shaker – you can use either a Boston shaker or a cocktail shaker with a built in strainer. If you get a Boston shaker be sure to purchase a strainer as well.
• Hand juicer – a hand juicer makes juicing lemons, limes and oranges much easier. Since you only need a little juice for most recipes a hand juicer works perfectly.
• Jigger – this is a fancy two sided measuring cup that is used for making cocktails. You do not need one and can easily use a tablespoon measure instead. Just remember 1 tablespoon is 1/2 ounce.

3 tips to making a really great cocktail

1. Use quality ingredients. As with cooking the cocktail is the sum of the ingredients. You will have the best cocktails when you use fresh juice and quality spirits. The spirits do not need to be ultra premium, but you want to use decent quality. This will also help reduce the chances of a bad hangover.
2. Use large and hard ice cubes. If you are serving a drink on the rocks or shaking a cocktail you want to use larger ice cubes so that they do not water down the drink too much and make it nice and cold.
3. Shake vigorously. It is always better to shake a drink hard and fast versus slow and long. Shaking helps to chill the drink, dilute it slightly, combine the ingredients, and aerate the beverage. If you don’t want to give the cocktail a hard shake I recommend stirring instead.

Try these tasty margarita variations on your next Taco Tuesday

• Margarita with egg white – add 1/2 egg white to your cocktail shaker along with the other ingredients and shake vigorously. This will result in a rich and frothy margarita. This variation will only work in a shaker.
• Cilantro margarita – add a nice herbaceous flavor with this cilantro margarita recipe.
• Spicy margarita – add a couple freshly sliced jalapeno rings to your margarita before stirring or shaking
• Paloma margarita – switch out the orange and lime juices for grapefruit juice.

The Best Fresh Margarita

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5 from 1 review

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There is no better way to drink margaritas than with fresh lime juice and agave nectar. This recipe is the real deal!

• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 2-3 1x

Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

• 125 milliliters fresh lime juice (4-6 limes)
• 100 milliliters fresh orange juice
• 175 milliliters tequila (100% agave silver tequila)
• 50 milliliters Cointreau or other good orange liqueur
• 50 milliliters light agave nectar or to taste
• kosher salt optional

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Instructions

1. Squeeze lime and orange juices into glass measuring cup. (I measure using the metric side.)
2. Add tequila, Cointreau, and agave nectar. Stir well. Taste and add more agave nectar to taste if desired.
3. To salt glass, rub cut lime around outer edge of the rim, coating the top 1/2″ well with lime juice. Pour about a teaspoon of salt into the palm of your hand, and roll outer edge of glass in salt until coated.
4. Fill glasses with ice. Pour, sip, pucker, smile.

• Author: Andi
• Prep Time: 5
• Category: Cocktail
• Cuisine: Mexican

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