Best Margartia Recipes to celebrate Cinco de Mayo
On May 5, 1862, the Mexican Army, against all odds, defeated French forces in the Battle of Puebla. While Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for the 5th of May) is celebrated in the Pub region, the holiday has taken on more meaning outside of Mexico than within — similar to how St. Patrick’s Day is more popular in the U.S. than in Ireland. On this day, many Mexicans around the world celebrate their Mexican ancestry and many people of all backgrounds take the time to appreciate Mexican culture. What better way to celebrate than with the Best Margarita Recipes!!!
The best Margartia’s use 3 ingredients: Lime Juice, Tequila, and Orange Liquer
Best Margarita Recipes.
As many of my readers knows, I have 2 websites and blogs about Playa del Carmen. Please click here for my other site that details theperfect Margarita recipes, including the Classic Original. On this site you will find additional Margarita recipes how to pick the best ingredients, the right tequila, and how to salt the rim of a glass.
Much thanks to Kevin Sintumuang and the Wall St. Journal for the following recipes!!! I tried them at my Cinco de Mayo party and they were huge hits!! These truly are the Best Margarita Recipes
Selecting the Tequila! Look for 100% agave on the tequila label.
This is determined by the amount you want to spend, but there are many 100% Agave products on the market starting around $15.00 for a 750ml bottle of blanco Tequila. We use blanco and reposado Tequilas in our margaritas as a standard, and depending on the mixed ingredients, an Añejo makes a nice addition at an increased cost. Sample different brands and types to change the flavor of your margaritas.
Key words to look for on the label: 100% agave. Anything else is for the spring break crowd.
All Tequilas are not the same quality
Blanco This is how the drink is classically made, giving the margarita the bright, green, peppery freshness it’s come to be known for. Generally, a highland tequila like Ocho Plata (40% ABV, $50) will give you more spicy, citrusy notes while a lowlands one like Partida Blanco (40% ABV, $50) will be crisper and fruitier. At around $20 a bottle, Espolón (40% ABV) is a steal.
Reposado This is a tequila aged for two to 11 months, which accounts for its slightly woody flavors. Siete Leguas (40% ABV, $43) has great balance between sweet agave notes and oak.
Añejo Some say using a tequila aged over a year is a waste in a cocktail, but if you like oakiness, go for it. Most can get pricey, but Milagro Añejo is a good option for a margarita (40% ABV, $33).
Mezcal Technically not a tequila, but still made from agave, mezcal is generally smokier and more savory. The fruit-forward, easy-sipping Del Maguey Vida (40% ABV, $34) is an approachable introduction to the spirit. Those seeking more spice and smoke should stock up on Sombra Mezcal (40% ABV, $32).
Adds something special to the Margarita
Orange liqueur is what makes a Margarita special
Orange Liquer is what delivers the margarita’s rich sweetness, so don’t make it an afterthought.
Cointreau Pure and clean, Cointreau is the top-shelf standard when it comes to margaritas (40% ABV, $40).
Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao Newly developed from an old recipe with the help of cocktail historian David Wondrich, this orange liqueur has pleasant Cognac-like elements and a nose of orange zest and blossoms (40% ABV, $26).
Combier This has become the choice of the craft bartender set as it offers a more subtle orange taste with a hint of bitterness (40% ABV, $40).
Grand Marnier is a personal favorite of my father, and I am my father’s daughter! Grand Marnier liqueur’s orange and oaked cognac flavours provide harmonious balance, giving more flavour and smoothness to your Margarita. (40% ABV $40)
Squeeze lime halves in a hand juicer.
Yes, it’s so much easier to use mixes, but none of them are going to beat freshly squeezed lime juice. To yield the most liquid, use room-temperature limes, gently roll them on the counter to loosen the pulp (but not too much or they’ll turn bitter) and squeeze lime halves in a juicer Limes vary in tartness. If your margarita is too tart, try adding a bit of agave nectar to even things out.
Season It Right with Salt
Don’t use table salt. It tastes funny and the grains are too small. Smoked salt works well with a mezcal margarita.
Grand Margarita
Savoury note : A highly refreshing cocktail in which the sour notes of lime and tequila are tempered by Grand Marnier® liqueur.
Tasting notes : This highly refreshing cocktail pairs the sour flavours of lime with the herbal notes of tequila. Grand Marnier® liqueur’s orange and oaked cognac flavours provide harmonious balance, giving more flavour and smoothness to your Margarita.
Ingredients
Grand Margarita :
1 oz Grand Marnier® liqueur
1½ oz tequila
¾ oz freshly squeezed lime juice
Here’s a modern frozen classic from Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill. It has just the right amount of sweetness and is served on the rocks—in other words, it looks more like a proper drink and not something that came out of a margarita machine. The Fresno chili is optional, but really makes the drink. This is the cocktail you want to have in your hand when you’re backyard barbecuing this summer.
Pineapple Chili Margarita
6 ounces tequila
2 cups fresh pineapple juice
1 cup pineapple, coarsely chopped
1 Fresno chili, coarsely chopped (optional)
Combine tequila, pineapple juice, pineapple and chili in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve over ice in a rocks glass.
The Señorita
A variation that maintains the template of the classic margarita recipe but uses Compass Box Orangerie, a Scotch infused with orange peel, for a much more complex orange flavor. The agave nectar is a nod to Tommy’s Margarita.
2 ounces reposado tequila
½ ounce Compass Box Orangerie
¾ ounce fresh lime juice
½ ounce agave nectar
1 dash grapefruit bitters
Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
From Philip Ward of Mayahuel, New York
Western Daisy
The Daisy is a type of sour cocktail that, like the margarita (Spanish for daisy), has three basic elements: a spirit, something sweet and citrus. Think of this as a delicate-tasting proto-’rita.
2 ounces blanco tequila
½ ounce yellow Chartreuse
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
¼ ounce simple syrup
3 drops rosewater
Grapefruit knot
Shake first four ingredients with ice and strain into a rocks glass over ice. Add three drops of rosewater and garnish with grapefruit knot.
From Alchemy Consulting for Andaz Wall Street, New York
Spiced Daisy
The key to this variation is Royal Combier, a Grand Marnier-like liqueur that is a blend of triple sec, Cognac and Elixir de Combier, a 19th-century French liqueur containing cardamom, cinnamon and saffron. The chili and salt mixture is awesome on other margaritas as well.
Smoked morita chili and salt mixture (2 parts salt to 1 part chili)
2 ounces blanco tequila
½ ounce Royal Combier
½ ounce agave nectar
1 ounce fresh lime juice
Salt half the rim of a cocktail glass with smoked morita chili and salt mixture. Shake remaining ingredients with ice and strain into glass. Garnish with a kaffir lime leaf (optional).
From Raul Yrastorza of Las Perlas, Los Angeles
Ground to Glass
A delicious, garden-fresh margarita. You’ll feel healthy drinking it. The hickory smoked salt is available at kalustyans.com.
Hickory smoked salt
3 cucumber slices
2 ounces tequila
1 ounce fresh lime juice
¾ ounce agave syrup (1 part agave nectar to 1 part water)
½ ounce red-pepper purée*
2 dashes orange bitters
Rim rocks glass with hickory smoked salt. Muddle cucumber in cocktail shaker. Add the other ingredients, shake with ice and double strain into a rocks glass over ice. *To make red pepper purée take 3 seeded red peppers and blend them in a food processor.
From Greg Seider of Summit Bar, New York