Margarita cocktail – all 20 possible recipes, composition and history

Greetings, dear reader! Every person has a story that started with a couple of shots of tequila, and ended … somehow very unusual. This Mexican drink is an incredibly insidious thing that awakens in us a craving for adventure.

And it is not at all necessary to drink it in shots, because there is a wonderful Margarita cocktail! It has a pleasant citrus taste, in which alcohol is barely discernible …

However, after a few glasses, it will suddenly turn out that you now have quite decent tequila … and a craving for adventure too.

What is this cocktail

The birthplace of Margarita is in the same place as tequila – in Mexico. The exact history of the appearance of the cocktail is unknown, but there is a fairly common version. It says that in 1948 a certain Margarita Sames mixed tequila, Cointreau (Cointreau, this is a citrus liqueur) and lime juice.

Thomas introduced the cocktail to the bar menu of his hotels and named it after the creator. And since the Hilton chain is spread all over the world, the delicious drink also became known everywhere and migrated from hotels to ordinary bars.

What bowl is it served in?

For Margarita, a special glass made of blown glass is used, which maintains the temperature of the drink for a long time. It is called that: Margarita Glass, in Russia the name is translated as “a glass for Margarita” or simply called the same as a cocktail.

It looks like a glass with a long stem and a wide top divided into two zones. The volume of a Margarita glass can be different – from 150 to 500 ml. It is also used for Daiquiri and other low-alcohol tropical cocktails.

Fortress

Calculating how many degrees a Margarita has can be tricky, as different proportions are used to make it. In a traditional cocktail, about 20% of the fortress is obtained.

This is quite a lot, so even an adult man can get drunk with a few glasses of Margarita.

Product composition and proportions

A traditional Margarita is made from silver tequila, citrus (most often orange) liqueur and lime juice.

The proportions of these main ingredients may vary. Historically, 2:1:2 is considered correct, a ratio of 2:2:1 is often used, and the Cointreau liqueur manufacturer recommends a ratio of 2:1:1.

Cocktail variations

Fans of alcoholic cocktails tend to call Margarita all drinks where there is tequila and lime (or lemon, if the conditions are completely homemade). However, in fact, there are only two official varieties of this cocktail:

1. Skinny Margarita. It is made only from tequila and lime juice, served with salt. It turns out an unsweetened drink, which is called “skinny” due to the fact that it is a dietary option.
2. Birmarita (another name is Coronarita). It differs from the classics in that a bottle of Corona light beer is added to the usual Margarita, which must be held vertically upside down. Other beers are allowed.

Everything else is amateur options designed to satisfy the tastes of fastidious tasters. However, no one says that this is bad: if you are not at the bartending competition, then no one will forbid you to interfere with any ingredients for Margarita.

Below I will tell you not only about the classic cocktail, but also how to make delicious homemade variations of it.

Energy value per 100 g of product

Energy and nutritional value of 100 ml classic Margarita:

• 168 kcal;
• 0,05 g – proteins;
• 0,08 g – fats;
• 10,67 g – carbohydrates.

Required ingredients for 1 serving

For a classic Margarita, you will need a shaker and a special glass (in principle, you can serve a cocktail in any glass, and this will not affect the taste, however, a traditional cocktail is served in Margarita Glass).

Ingredients (proportions according to IBA):

• silver tequila – 35 ml (traditionally – Sausa, but you can use another high quality brand, for example, Olmeca);
• orange liqueur – 20 ml (traditionally – Cointreau, can be replaced with Triple Sec);
• freshly squeezed lime juice – 15 ml;
• ice cubes;
• coarse salt (to create a rim).

A lime slice is used to decorate the cocktail.

What can and cannot be replaced in the composition

Any Margarita cocktail is prepared with tequila. It cannot be removed from the composition, as it is the basis. But replacing the liquor with another ingredient or taking a lemon instead of a dime is quite possible if you are preparing a cocktail at home or just want to diversify the taste.

Margarita Recipes at Home

Despite the fact that lime juice is included in the classic Margarita, you can use lemon if you are making a cocktail at home. The taste, of course, will be slightly different, since the lemon is not bitter, but Margarita will still turn out to be recognizable.

Next, I will tell you about various homemade recipes for this cocktail, and I will use lemon – it is easier to find in any city, it is cheaper, and many people like it better. Still, lime bitterness is considered exotic for Russian people, but we love Margarita no less.

An important point on which I would like to dwell. In all the recipes below, I will not indicate the proportions, as they are individual. Even the IBA cannot agree with Cointreau, therefore I cannot indicate exactly what and how much to pour.

Focus on your preferences for taste and strength, remember: tequila is strong alcohol, liquor is weak sweet alcohol, syrups can be either sweet (fruit and berry) or not sweet (floral, agave, ginger). Lemon juice is very sour, so is lime juice, but it has a bitter aftertaste.

I would recommend not adding more than 50 ml of tequila. This is a whole shot, and if you pour more, you will get a very strong cocktail.

Classic with ice

Before making a classic margarita, make sure you have tequila and citrus liqueur. Nothing will come of it without them, but lime, as we have already said, can be replaced with lemon juice without much loss in taste.

So, how to make a traditional Margarita cocktail:

1. We are preparing a glass. We rub the edge with a lime wedge in a circle to moisten it, and then lower the glass into a dish with salt. It turns out a beautiful border of salt: it gives aesthetics and affects the taste.
2. Pour a few ice cubes into a shaker. Pour in tequila, lime (lemon) juice and liqueur. Close (tightly!) and shake well.
3. Pour the resulting cocktail into a glass from a shaker, while ice should not fall into the glass. Decorate the Margarita with a slice of citrus and serve.

An important point: for making Margarita, as for many cocktails, you definitely need a shaker. If you plan to often make various bar drinks at home, then I recommend buying it.

Well, if you just decide to conduct an experiment for yourself, then a shaker can be made from improvised means, guided by the rule: the main thing is not to splash out.

Margarita cocktail looks great in the photo – you can make a lot of beautiful shots on Instagram with it. Its price in bars varies depending on the cost of the ingredients used and the policy of the institution, but on average it is about 450-600 rubles.

It will be much cheaper to prepare it at home – if, of course, you have a bottle of tequila and special glasses available. The latter is not necessary, but after all, any cocktail is not only alcohol, it is also an atmosphere!

Strawberry

The classic Margarita is a tasty but unsweetened cocktail. Therefore, many people prefer the strawberry version (especially girls). It is prepared as follows:

1. As for the traditional Margarita, we decorate the glass. But since this version of the cocktail will be sweet, someone uses sugar instead of salt.
2. In a shaker, add tequila, lemon juice, strawberry liqueur (or syrup if you don’t want it to be too strong), orange liqueur and a few chopped strawberries.
3. Shake everything and pour into a glass.

Before placing all the ingredients in a shaker, strawberries can be pre-chopped in a blender so that a puree is obtained. Then the taste of the finished cocktail will be richer and sweeter.

Blue margarita

Among cocktails, blue ones are very common: Laguna, Hawaii, even Canary … Margarita is also available. For it, the same ingredients are used as for the classic one, only Blue Curacao is added – an orange liqueur of bright blue color. Together with tequila, lemon juice and Cointreau, it is mixed in a shaker and poured into a glass.

For a blue Margarita, it is also suggested to decorate the glass with sugar, since the cocktail turns out to be sweet due to the large amount of liquor.

Ginger Apple Margarita

An interesting twist on the classics, which is suitable, for example, for an autumn holiday. Pour tequila, apple liqueur, ginger liqueur and lemon juice into a shaker. Shake everything with ice and pour into a glass with a sugar rim. You can decorate the cocktail with thin apple slices.

Cherry

For this cocktail option, in addition to tequila and lemon juice, you will need a few cherries and cherry syrup. Mix the berries in a puree or mash in a shaker with a spoon, then pour in all the other ingredients and shake.

It turns out a very sweet Margarita of rich red color, the glass for which is also decorated with sugar.

Pink senorita

This version of Margarita got such a romantic name due to the fact that it includes pink lemonade.

Stages of preparation:

1. Pour lemon juice, tequila, orange liqueur into a shaker with ice and shake.
2. For a glass, we make a decoration from a rim of salt or sugar (to taste), pour a cocktail from a shaker.
3. Top with pink lemonade.

The volume of such a cocktail is larger than that of a classic Margarita, so a traditional glass will not work.

If you do not have a shaker, then you can do it easier: prepare a cocktail using the stir method (stir). You need to take a long glass, put a few ice cubes in it and pour all the ingredients into it in turn, stirring them with a spoon. Lemonade at the end.

Hypnotic / hypnotic

This refreshing version of the Margarita gets its name from the addition of American Hypnotic liqueur.

For cooking you will need the following ingredients:

• tequila;
• orange liqueur;
• Hypnotic liqueur;
• Pineapple juice;
• sweet and sour mix (lemon and lime juice mixed with sugar and water), can be replaced with plain lemon juice.

Everything is as usual – mix in a shaker, shake and pour. For a glass, a sugar rim is recommended, as the cocktail turns out to be sweet and sour.

margarita flirting

For this Margarita, not silver, but golden tequila is used. Together with it in a shaker you need to mix:

• bitter liquor Campari;
• marakui syrup;
• lemon juice;
• golden tequila.

Shake everything off and pour into a long glass over ice, top up with Sprite. Sugar rim decoration.

Strong option for men

You can go the easy route and add more tequila and less liquor. Or you can go the hard way and mix silver tequila, Blue Curacao liqueur and lemon juice in a shaker. Pour all this into a glass, decorated with a rim of salt.

The second option does not differ much in strength from the classic Margarita, but has a rich blue color and a less sweet taste, which makes it more “masculine”.

With ginger syrup and apple

Above we had a cocktail with ginger syrup and apple liqueur. This option is similar, but less strong. Mix the apple pulp in a blender until puree and add to the shaker. In a shaker with ice, mix:

• golden tequila;
• ginger syrup;
• Apple juice;
• lemon juice.

The cocktail is decorated with a sugar rim and apple slices.

With agave and hibiscus

This cocktail is served with crushed ice in a large glass. Mix in a shaker:

• golden tequila;
• hibiscus syrup;
• agave syrup;
• lemon juice.

Shake and pour into a glass, garnish with a lime wedge. The drink will turn out to be completely unsweetened, so you can add a little sugar syrup to the shaker to taste.

blueberry recipe

Blueberries must either be mixed in a blender or crushed (for this, bartenders use a muddler). Together with them, add to the shaker:

• lemon juice;
• golden tequila;
• sugar syrup;
• Campari liqueur or orange bitter.

Shake everything with ice and pour into a traditional glass decorated with a salty rim.

With basil and pepper

This drink requires advance preparation. You will need to mix basil, hot jalapeno peppers with golden tequila, then leave it for a day in the refrigerator. After that, the resulting mixture must be filtered – this is what we will use, and the remnants of pepper and basil can be thrown away.

Mix in a blender:

• pre-prepared tequila;
• orange liqueur;
• lemon juice;
• honey.

We use a blender, since it will be very difficult to shake the honey evenly in a shaker. Pour the finished cocktail into glasses. They can be decorated with a rim of salt and red pepper (we add a little pepper – just for beauty, as it can cause discomfort to the lips).

Bloody Margarita autumn version

There is such a classic cocktail – Bloody Mary, it is prepared with tomato juice. Bloody Margarita has nothing to do with him, except for the sonorous name. We don’t need any tomatoes.

For this cocktail, the juice of red oranges is used (they are also called bloody because of their rich color, not to be confused with grapefruits). Try to find ready-made juice, and if it doesn’t work out, you will have to squeeze it yourself. Therefore, it is more expedient to prepare such a cocktail immediately for a large company.

Mix in a shaker:

• juice of red oranges;
• lemon juice;
• silver tequila;
• orange liqueur.

As usual, shake everything with ice and serve in decorated glasses. The rim can be either sugar or salty (depending on which combination of flavors you like best), additionally the cocktail is decorated with an orange slice and sage sprigs.

Fried margarita

Squeeze the juice from the toasted lemon and/or lime into a shaker, add silver tequila, orange liqueur and sugar syrup. Shake everything with ice and pour into a glass. You can decorate it with a salty rim and a toasted citrus slice.

grapefruit

This version of the cocktail is also called “Morning Margarita” – due to the fact that Europeans and Americans often add orange jam and citrus juice to breakfast. To prepare a drink, put 10 g of orange jam in a shaker and pour:

• silver tequila;
• orange liqueur;
• grapefruit juice;
• lemon juice;
• sugar syrup.

Shake everything with ice and pour into a glass. It is not recommended to make a sugar rim, as the drink will already be quite sweet. You can decorate it with a cocktail cherry.

Pineapple

An interesting take on a sweet margarita. For it, you can make pineapple puree in a blender or use rich pineapple juice. Pour it into a blender along with:

• golden tequila;
• honey syrup or honey (if you have a very sweet tooth);
• lemon juice.

Shake everything with ice and pour into a glass decorated with sugar. For decoration, you can additionally add a slice of pineapple.

Mimosa Margarita with champagne

For this cocktail, you will need champagne or sparkling wine (semi-sweet – if you like sweeter, and dry – if you are indifferent to sweet). It is recommended to prepare several servings at once, since champagne is sold in bottles, and it is better to pour it immediately.

Mix in a shaker:

• silver tequila;
• lemon juice;
• Orange juice.

Shaking everything with ice, pour into a glass and pour chilled champagne on top. You can decorate with a sugar rim.

For this cocktail, you should use long and narrow glasses, as gas comes out of them more slowly. By the way, this cocktail is called Mimosa Margarita because it takes the base from the classic Mimosa cocktail, consisting of champagne with orange juice.

Beer Margarita

Above, I already mentioned that this kind of cocktail is considered official, not amateur. It is called “birmarita” because the English word beer is inserted at the beginning – it translates as “beer”.

For this cocktail, we use a large glass, as the drink will be more voluminous. You can decorate it with a rim of salt.

We prepare a classic Margarita, after which we pour it into a glass and pour beer on top. Beer should be light in taste so as not to interrupt the rest of the ingredients.

Watermelon Margarita

To make a watermelon margarita, you will need: tequila, lemon juice, a few slices of watermelon, agave syrup and pomegranate juice.

In a shaker with ice, you need to put the pulp of a watermelon and knead it well with a spoon, then pour in the rest of the ingredients (you need no more than a couple of drops of agave syrup, it has a very rich taste). Shake the entire contents of the shaker and pour into a glass. Decoration – sugar.

Margarita making video

In the video below you will see how to make a Margarita at home in a traditional glass or in a shot (the second option is suitable for those alcoholics who do not like long drinks):

How to serve and with what to drink

You can drink Margarita before or after a meal, although earlier the cocktail belonged to the category of aperitifs (it was drunk before a meal in order to wake up the appetite). Fruits or sweets are most often taken as an appetizer, but there are no strict rules for this – you may well drink other dishes with Margarita.

Conclusion

So, we have sorted out a variety of Margarita cocktail options – from classic and popular to completely exotic. Whatever you like: salty, sweet, bitter, spicy, you can always make yourself a Margarita to taste!

You can share unusual recipes on your social networks (and at the same time show your friends that you don’t mind getting together for a tasting) and subscribe to new articles in order not to miss interesting publications. See you!