Pair your margarita pitcher with some grilled fish tacos or easy sweet potato nachos for a laid-back Mexican meal. Unlike many overly sweet store-bought mixes, a classic margarita is a strong sweet-tart drink with only three simple ingredients – good-quality tequila, orange liqueur, and freshly-squeezed lime juice. Mix up a pitcher of this crisp cocktail for your next party, and be sure to serve it cold with plenty of salt and extra limes!
Ice + sliced limes – to add to the pitcher, and to keep things cool. White tequila – white tequila, also called silver tequila or tequila blanco, has a clean, colorless appearance which makes it perfect for lighter-colored cocktails. Triple sec – this clear orange-flavored liqueur made from the skins of oranges is a classic margarita ingredient used for sweetening. Cointreau, another orange-flavored liqueur, is a great substitute. Simple syrup or agave can be used instead (and yields a margarita that is slightly less strong on the alcohol!) Lime juice – fresh is best to give it that classic sour margarita taste! Coarse salt – to rim the glass, of course.
Making simple syrup at home is really easy. Heat 1 cup of sugar (or honey, or agave syrup) with 2 cups of water until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool completely before using it to make a drink. Store any leftovers in the fridge for about a month.
Make it a spicy margarita – to give your margarita a little kick, add a few slices of jalapeño into your glass. Press the slices with the back of a wooden spoon to release some of the juices. Since the heat can vary, start with a few slices as you can always add more if you like. Make it a mezcal margarita – we love using mezcal in margaritas for its smoky complex flavor. Depending on your preference, you could swap all the tequila for mezcal, or do a 50/50 blend of tequila and mezcal. Make it a lower alcohol margarita – the easiest way to make a lighter margarita is to replace the Triple Sec with simple syrup. You can also top your margarita with a splash of bubbly water (as we do in our fizzy lime margaritas. Give it a spicy rim – use Tajìn mixed with coarse salt to give your rim some heat. You could even add a bit of cane sugar to make it sweet and spicy!
Of course, it’s a natural match with Mexican food (our favorite!) Pour a glass while lounging on a patio with some salty tortilla chips and chunky grilled guacamole, or pair it with tacos, nacho fries, or a Mexican hot dog. You can’t go wrong!
Did you make this?
We love to see what you made! Tag @theendlessmeal or hashtag #theendlessmeal!
