How to make a margarita

A margarita doesn’t have to be made in a blender. In fact, one of the most refreshing cocktails is this great combination of tequila with orange liquor, a little bit of sugar and fresh lime juice.

1. Add two parts of tequila and one and a third parts orange liqueur. Mixologist Allen Katz uses Grand Marnier, but you could use Triple Sec or Cointreau, any of them will suffice. It’s important to measure these ingredients. Use jiggers if you have them.
2. Add equal parts of simple syrup, which is equal parts sugar and water. You can make it and keep it in closed containers in your refrigerator for a month.
3. Using a citrus squeezer, add about one part of fresh lime juice. That’s about half a lime. The fun part is shaking it over ice. Make sure the glass and shaker form a tight seal. Shake it with vigor.
4. Once it’s mixed, tap the side of the glass to loosen it.
5. Take a fresh slice of lime around the edge of the glass, dip it, and rotate in a shallow dish of salt. Strain the margarita over ice and garnish with a fresh lime reel.

 I’m Allen Katz for howdini.com, and today I’m going to teach you how to make a great classic: margarita.

Now a margarita need not be made in the blender. In fact, one of the most refreshing cocktails is this great combination of tequila with orange liqueur, a little bit of sugar and fresh lime juice.

We’re going to start with silver tequila, and in a mixing glass add about two parts, and then to that we’re going to add about a part and a third of orange liqueur. Now in this case, we’re using Grand Marnier. You could use Triple Sec or Cointreau. Of course they are varying flavors among the three, but any of them will suffice. One part equals one ounce, and it’s important to measure these ingredients out. If you have jiggers, and they’re very inexpensive, they’re the ideal measuring tool for cocktails. If you have the kitchen measuring glass that has ounce marks on them you can use that as well.

Now after that, we’ll add equal parts of simple syrup. Simple syrup is an equal combination of sugar and water, and just put it in a closed vessel and shake the two together until the sugar is completely dissolved. If you keep it in a closed, airtight container, it will last in your refrigerator for at least a month. So equal parts simple syrup and, using our citrus squeezer, we’re going to add about one part of fresh lime juice. As you can see, it’s about half of a fresh lime.

Now the fun part of the margarita, of course, is shaking it over ice. So add it to a well-chilled tin, just tamp down so that there’s a solid seal between the two parts. Then we’re going to shake it with good vigor. Now once the cocktail is well chilled, you’re just going to give one strong tap on the side of the mixing glass and the two parts will remove with relative ease.

To serve the margarita, we’re going to use an old-fashioned glass, or a rocks glass, and we’ll fill that with fresh ice. Now some people prefer a salted rim; you absolutely can do that, and to salt the rim before you add the ice, you’re just going to take a fresh wedge of lime, take it around the rim of the glass, and then rotate it in a shallow plate of salt so that you can effectively rim the glass. We’re going to strain the cocktail over ice, and garnish with just a fresh lime wheel for fragrant aromatics.

I’m Allen Katz for howdini.com