Tequila Lime Cocktail (Margarita)
Tequila shaken hard with fresh lime juice and orange liqueur, poured over ice in a salt-rimmed glass. Bright, sharp and perfectly balanced, this is Mexico's most famous cocktail export done the proper way.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Salt the rim
Rub the cut side of a lime wedge around half of the outer rim of a glass, then dip just that half into coarse salt on a small plate. Salting only half lets each drinker choose how much salt they get with every sip. Set the glass aside and add a handful of ice to it so it's ready for serving.
- 1 lime wedge
- 1 tbsp coarse salt
Squeeze the lime juice
Juice fresh limes until you have 30 ml of juice, straining out the seeds. Fresh juice is what makes a good margarita; bottled lime juice tastes flat and overly sharp.
- 30 ml fresh lime juice
Fill the shaker
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Shake hard
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Strain and serve
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Salt the rim
Rub the cut side of a lime wedge around half of the outer rim of a glass, then dip just that half into coarse salt on a small plate. Salting only half lets each drinker choose how much salt they get with every sip. Set the glass aside and add a handful of ice to it so it's ready for serving.
- 1 lime wedge
- 1 tbsp coarse salt
Squeeze the lime juice
Juice fresh limes until you have 30 ml of juice, straining out the seeds. Fresh juice is what makes a good margarita; bottled lime juice tastes flat and overly sharp.
- 30 ml fresh lime juice
Fill the shaker
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Shake hard
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Strain and serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
The margarita is widely believed to be a Mexican twist on the Daisy, an old cocktail family built on spirit, citrus and liqueur ('margarita' means daisy in Spanish). Several bartenders along the US-Mexico border have been credited with the drink over the decades, and no single story can be proven, but all point to the same era and region.
What is certain is that the margarita took the humble combination of tequila and lime, already common in border cantinas, and dressed it up with orange liqueur and a salted rim, turning a local drink into an international classic.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It is the drink most people picture when they think of Mexico, and the gateway cocktail that introduced tequila to the world beyond shots and salt.
💡 Fun Fact
Mexican law requires that tequila be made from agave grown in specific regions, mostly around Jalisco; without real tequila, there is no real margarita.
Northern Mexico (Tijuana/Ciudad Juárez border region)
32.51°N, -117.04°W
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