Cocktail

Margarita

The world’s most ordered cocktail. Tequila, triple sec, and fresh lime — sharp, salty, and impossible to get enough of.

🥃 Base spirit Tequila
🍹 Method Shaken
⭐ Difficulty Easy
🍋 Flavour Citrus · Sour
🥂 Glass Coupe or rocks

About the Margarita

The Margarita is the best-selling cocktail in the world, and it’s easy to see why. Three ingredients — tequila, triple sec, and fresh lime juice — come together in a ratio that’s been tested by millions of bartenders and drinkers over decades. It’s tart, refreshing, and has just enough sweetness to stop it being punishing. The salted rim brings everything into focus.

Its exact origins are genuinely disputed. A dozen different people claim to have invented it somewhere in Mexico or the American Southwest during the 1930s and 40s, and the truth has been lost to time. What’s not disputed is that by the 1950s it had become one of the defining drinks of the century — and it’s never looked back.

Tequila Triple Sec Citrus Sour Sweet Shaken

The Classic Recipe

Classic Margarita — Serves 1
  • 50ml tequila blanco
  • 25ml triple sec or Cointreau
  • 25ml fresh lime juice (roughly 1 large lime)
  • Flaky salt, for the rim
  • Lime wheel or wedge, to garnish
Method
  1. Run a lime wedge around the rim of your glass and dip it into a plate of flaky salt. Set aside while you build the drink.
  2. Add the tequila, triple sec, and lime juice to a cocktail shaker with a generous amount of ice.
  3. Shake hard for 15 seconds — this is a sour, so it needs a proper shake to froth up and chill properly.
  4. Strain over fresh ice into your prepared glass (rocks glass or coupe both work). Garnish with a lime wheel or wedge.

Tips for the Best Margarita

Use fresh lime, always. Bottled lime juice produces a flat, slightly bitter result that no amount of good tequila will fix. One large lime gives you roughly 25ml — squeeze it fresh every time.
Tequila choice matters. Blanco (unaged) tequila is the classic choice — it keeps the flavour clean and citrus-forward. Reposado works too and adds a gentle warmth, but avoid añejo here as the oak can fight with the lime.
Cointreau vs cheaper triple sec. Cointreau gives a cleaner, more elegant result. Budget triple sec is fine for a crowd, but you’ll taste the difference in a classic where every ingredient counts.
The salt rim is optional, not compulsory. If you’re not a fan, skip it — or do a half-rim so guests can choose. Flaky sea salt rather than table salt makes a real difference to the texture.
Shake it hard. A Margarita is a sour-style drink and benefits from a vigorous shake. You want it cold, slightly diluted, and with a light foam on top. Don’t be gentle.

Popular Variations

Frozen Margarita

Blended with ice rather than shaken. Thicker, colder, and ideal for hot weather. See our Frozen Strawberry Margarita for a fruity version.

Spicy Margarita

Add a few slices of fresh jalapeño to the shaker and muddle lightly before shaking. The heat builds slowly and works brilliantly against the lime.

Tommy’s Margarita

Drops the triple sec and replaces it with agave syrup. Cleaner, more spirit-forward, and a favourite among tequila purists.

Mezcal Margarita

Swap the tequila for mezcal for a smoky, more complex version. Works best with blanco or joven mezcal so the smoke doesn’t overwhelm the lime.

Winter Cranberry Margarita

A seasonal twist using cranberry juice and a sugared rim. See our Winter Cranberry Margarita for the full recipe.

Paloma

Not technically a Margarita, but the other great tequila and citrus cocktail. Uses grapefruit soda in place of lime and triple sec — see our Sparkling Paloma.

How to Serve

Glass: A rocks glass over ice is the most common serve. A coupe or Margarita glass (if you have one) works well for a neat, no-ice serve — strain it double and enjoy it colder for longer.
Ice: Large cubes melt more slowly and keep the drink colder without diluting it. Avoid crushed ice in a classic Margarita — save that for the frozen version.
Batching for a crowd: Scale the recipe up and mix a jug in advance — just don’t add ice until you’re ready to serve. Use 2 parts tequila, 1 part triple sec, 1 part lime juice as your base ratio and taste as you go.

Related Database Entries

Explore the key ingredients and spirits in this cocktail:

Tequila Triple Sec Negroni Cosmopolitan