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The Classic Margarita

Three margarita cocktails in glasses with salted rims.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert
  • Active Time

    5 minutes

  • Total Time

    5 minutes

Seeking the best margarita recipe for relaxing poolside? Planning a tacos-and-margs party and not sure of the best ratio? We adore this classic cocktail for its refreshing, strong, and tart personality—and its absolute ease of assembly. The secret to a great margarita? Good spirits—and fresh lime juice. No shelf-stable margarita mix, please! When stocking up your bar, look for tequila bottles labeled 100% agave. Using blanco tequila will impart a crisp, peppery vibe to your drink, while opting for a reposado will create a smoother cocktail with a warm finish. In addition to the best tequila you can muster, you’ll also need orange liqueur. Choose a good triple sec, such as Cointreau, for vibrancy and sweetness that’s not too cloying. Or, if you liked the idea of those warmer flavors, swap it out for Grand Marnier, a cognac-based spirit. Finally, fresh lime juice is essential for a drink that tastes refreshing and in balance.

A salt rim counters some of the bitterness in the liqueur and lime. Just rub a juicy halved lime around the rim of your glass and dip it into a dish of coarse sea salt, then flip over and fill with ice cubes. If you choose to skip the rim, just add a pinch of kosher salt to your cocktail shaker. Shake up your perfect margarita and pour it into the glass. We love a rocks glass for this drink, but a stemmed margarita glass works too if that’s your thing.

Read the margarita’s origin story here →

Ingredients

Makes 1 drink

2 oz. tequila made from 100 percent agave, preferably reposado or blanco
1 oz. Cointreau
1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt for garnish

Preparation

  1. Combine tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice in cocktail shaker filled with ice. Moisten rim of stemmed glass or rocks glass with lime juice or water. Holding glass upside down, dip rim into salt. If serving in a rocks glass, fill with ice. Shake and strain drink into prepared glass. 

    Editor's note: This recipe was originally published in April 2007.

Variations

The margarita canon is full of creative adaptation. We love this slushy cocktail recipe that gives the frozen margarita a bittersweet twist, and this spicy version with grapefruit and habanero (jalapeño works, too) is nice for days when you want a little extra pep. For more tequila cocktails, head this way →

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  • This is very close to my recipe and it is not the drink made in the video that led me here. The one part lime juice to one part Cointreau to two parts 100% agave tequila needs to be adjusted with some simple syrup depending on the tartness of the lime juice. Really juicy and ripe limes need almost no simple syrup whilst a really dry and tart lime needs more. One can use agave nectar instead of simple syrup but not really an upgrade. In a pinch one can add some sugar and water before shaking. I like Espolon blanco tequila for margaritas. Don Julio blanco makes a very nice margarita but I would rather use that for sipping. Also I take exception to how the simple syrup was made in the video. I always make my simple syrup by "cold process" where I mechanically shake to dissolve the sugar. Heating the sugar can caramelize it and change the taste.

    • haroldsmom3

    • Gainesville, FL

    • 12/15/2023

  • Great recipe but I always use equal parts lemon juice and lime juice - trust me, it's a winner!

    • mavgirl17

    • Dallas, TX

    • 6/6/2022

  • Let’s add 1/2 ounce of agave with 1/2 ounce of water for the best classic margarita

    • Tom McD

    • San Clemente, CA

    • 6/4/2022

  • For those who prefer a little more sweetness in their margaritas, my favorite Mexican restaurant adds a splash of orange juice. It's not quite as tart and smooths out the drink.

    • oaklandcolorservice

    • Hayward, CA

    • 6/19/2020

  • Perfect. But the real Margarita uses lemon, not lime juice

    • kuraka

    • Cusco (Peru)

    • 4/24/2020

  • When you say salt for the rim.. which salt? There is sea salt which can be kind of over the top salty, there is manufactured salt that can look like dandruff on the edge of the glass, and imported sea salts from England, Asia and Europe. And then is my favorite, Murray River Salt, a light delicate pink salt flake from Australia that is not too salty.

    • john@goldengroveglobal.com

    • DENVER CO

    • 5/8/2019

  • This recipe is the true margarita recipe. It is truly perfection.

    • missyjett

    • Stoughton Wisconsin

    • 5/1/2019

  • 2:1:1 is the golden ratio that I used for years! But it is very strong. I will say that I have mellowed it out a bit with age and now use 1.5:1:1 as my ratio. This results in a slightly less alcoholic taste on the first sip and fewer people who aren't able to put their own PJs on after 1 glass. The key is the simplicity of the ingredients and to not add things that don't belong. Once you master this, restaurant margaritas will all be too sweet and too dilute. A few tips: Cointreau is very expensive, and I've had pretty good success with almost any decent orange liqueur. I like 03 a lot. Just stay away from Triple Sec. The only thing I will sometimes add is some grapefruit bitters. Another fair warning, this is NOT sweet. This is strong and tart. The bitterness cut just enough by the orange liqueur and the salt. If you go in expecting sweetness I think you'll be disappointed. But my mom only likes the cheapest, sweetest wines and she loves this... different expectations.

    • helgatheviking

    • 12/26/2018

  • This is pretty much how I’ve been making my Margaritas...I use only top shelf tequila, pure lime juice and NEVER use triple sec (too sugary). With lime around and kosher salt on the rim it off sets the slight tang. I used to love sweet mixed drinks and sweet wine and then my taste buds matured. If you prefer pure taste over sugary additives then this recipe is perfect!!!

    • Stmarie68

    • NJ and FL

    • 8/27/2018

  • Finally No preservatives; nothing you can't pronounce; simple and easy

    • egyptianqueen

    • Winnipeg, Mb

    • 6/15/2018

  • This is a great Magarita, it's NOT meant to be sweet. If you want sweet try a daquari. No body puts syrup in a Matini...... Get over yourself if you don't like it.

    • Dirt__1

    • Marathon

    • 6/1/2017

  • I wouldn't change a thing, except I serve it in a traditional champagne coupe not the bathtub used in the picture.

    • Anonymous

    • Columbus, Ohio

    • 10/28/2016

  • This recipe brings Strong alcohol on the buds. This can be fine at times but I tempered with a generous pinch of brown sugar a tbsp of maple syrup and an ounce of water. Over ice the buds rallied happy for more

    • ohana380

    • 8/14/2016

  • Just the way I like it! If you are looking for a sickly sweet, punchy margarita, this is not your recipe. This is the recipe my friend, a bartender in nice New Orleans bars, uses. He says no triple sec in margaritas and no pre made syrups. I find the citrus flavors bright and sophisticated like this and find no need for extra sweetness, but I think if you do, this is a good base recipe to sweeten to your taste. My friend swears you'll never get a hangover from this! ;)

    • tannager

    • French Alps

    • 7/18/2016

  • This is a 'classic margarita'. Just like they make it from scratch down I'm Mex. I alter the recipe to 1-1.5 part Tequila, 1 part triple sec/cointreau , 1 part freshly squeezed lime juice. Seems to have a better balance of flavors and tastes more authentic to me. Cheers!

    • Anonymous

    • Redondo Beach, CA

    • 5/28/2016

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