Best Margarita Recipe with Fresh Citrus
We were out of tequila for the longest time, and that’s about to happen again. We bought this tequila and ventured out to make the best margarita we could find. We bought mixers, even expensive ones, and, while they weren’t bad, we decided we needed to make our own.
What’s the secret to a good margarita? Is it the tequila? Yes. Is it the orange liquor? Yes. Is it the salt? A little bit. Is it the lemon lime mix? Of course.
Best Margarita Recipe starts with good tequila and an orange liqueur.
Tequila: We love Còa de Jima Reposado, good enough to be a sipping tequila, priced low enough to make several batches for parties.
Orange Liqueur: We love Gran Gala, an Italian brandy based triple orange liqueur, which I wrote about here.
We have a friend who hosts the wine tastings at our neighborhood wine and liquor store, and he said “if you want to make the very best margarita, use fresh citrus only, lemons, lime, and orange.
We couldn’t agree more.
I most recently had a very orange-centric margarita at a place called Fisher’s in Orange Beach, Alabama.
It was the best margarita I ever had in a restaurant, as it was topped with a saltwater foam.
They used homemade orange bitters, another ingredient making its way into margaritas lately.
This recipe is very similar (minus the bitters) and sea salt foam. We used fresh squeezes of orange; you could use a splash of orange juice.
We think the best margarita recipe is served on the rocks with big piece of ice, which melts slowly and is poured into a salt rimmed glass.
Below you’ll find the best margarita recipe for one, but in the notes, I’ve made a batch for eight.
You will need a citrus squeezer and a cocktail shaker.
Taste your margarita and make adjustments. You may want it less sweet, so add sweetener a little at a time. You may want more or less orange, as different orange liqueurs have their own flavor.
You may also want to try this avocado margarita, and soon I’ll be bringing you a strawberry margarita with homemade strawberry simple syrup.
These would go so well with Doug’s famous guacamole, or our pork carnitas.
So tell me, how do you like your margarita? Do you have a favorite tequila? Follow me on instagram where all my kitchen and dining out pictures appear. I’d love to connect with you.
- 2 ounces Tequilla
- 1 ounce Orange Liqueur
- 1 teaspoon simple syrup or agave nectar
- juice of one lime
- juice of half lemon
- 1 squeeze fresh orange or splash orange juice
- salt for rim
- lime for garnish
- Makes one margarita. See notes for making a batch.
- Mix all liquids together in cocktail shaker with ice.
- Use lime wedge to wet rim of glass.
- Salt Glass.
- Pour into glass
16 ounces tequila (2 cups)
8 ounces orange liqueur (1 cup)
juice of 8 limes
juice of 4 lemons
juice of two oranges (or ½ glass orange juice, or more to taste)
3 tablespoons agave nectar or simple syrup
This looks so good. Yum! I have to try this margarita recipe and Cinco De Mayo is coming so I have the perfect excuse!
Try Doug’s legendary guac too. He gets it right.
Reposado! I ususally choose blanco for a Margarita because I’ve always thought that the more complex the tequila gets, the less it pairs with citrus. However, I’m going to try it your way and see. Just because I’ve always done something one way doesn’t mean it’s the best way. In fact that’s why I go to blogs – to challenge my perceptions. GREG
You could be right, but our wine guy recommended this and for the money, the value, the taste is great.
Yummmmmm! It looks so good. I’d love to be sipping on it right now. In fact make it a double — it’s been one of those days where I’ve been on go since 3 am. We’ve made margaritas several times — when company was here — but they certainly weren’t like yours. We will have to try them. Have a great weekend.
Marisa,
I love when they are fresh. I’ll bet yours are great too.
Sounds like a very good drink.
Thanks, Larry,
Oh, this is torture, as I love a great margarita, but we have a bout of a very nasty stomach bug here and so my alcohol intake is purely of the virtual kind right now. But when I’m better…man, pass me the avocado!