The Margarita Recipe

One of the crown jewels in the cocktail world is the Margarita. Like some of the classic French and Italian recipes every chef should know, the Margarita is something that every bartender knows. Since it's such a well known, and simple cocktail, you'd think getting a decent Margarita would be easy. Well, that assumption would be wrong. The problems stem from judicious recipe modifications and the increased use of sugar in food and drink. What was once a well balanced cocktail, is now a giant, fluorescent green, sugar laced, culinary nightmare. It's not beyond repair, and hardcore Slurpee lovers may be surprised to find that the original Margarita is still a great drink.

The Margarita recipe is one of the easier cocktail recipes, and can be considered a "base cocktail". This means the recipe / formula, is the basis for many other cocktails. The Margarita is basically a modification of the Sidecar, which is a modification of the Daisy. This simplicity makes modifications for personal preferences very easy. However, sometimes these changes go a little too far.

The basic Margarita recipe mingles three ingredients, plus ice and salt. Gary Regan (Joy of Mixology) recommends a 3:2:1 formula, which is easy to remember, and tastes good. Dale Degroff (The Essential Cocktail) has a similar recipe, but adjusts the ingredients a bit, for personal preference.

My preference is as follows:

The 42-21 Margarita

2 oz Tequila (Blanco)
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz Lime Juice
½ tsp Fructose

Instructions: In a cocktail shaker combine all ingredients with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a salt rimmed stemware glass. No garnish necessary.

This recipe has more focus on the tequila and lime, which I think really makes the drink. Because of the extra lime, there is a need for a little sweetener to provide balance. The name comes from the ratio of tequila, triple sec, lime and sugar (4:2:2:1).

I like blanco tequila's in my Margarita's. I'm not against a Reposado or Anejo, it's just my personal preference. It also doesn't have to be an expensive tequila, just a decent quality one, without harshness. While writing this post, I used Jose Cuervo Especial Silver tequila, which has been sitting on my desk waiting for a purpose. It worked perfectly fine for a reasonably priced tequila. Even my super-taster wife liked it.

Fresh squeezed lime juice is a must. Period, end of story. Unless you commit to that, you'll never be able to produce a truly great Margarita.

One of the things I see a lot, and disagree with, is the use of Grand Marnier, instead of Cointreau or triple sec. Some people think using a more expensive ingredient makes a better cocktail. Seems fine in theory, but doesn't always work in practice. The flavour isn't as clean as a triple sec, but the bigger problem is the Margarita can look like a "smokers luggie", when using Grand Marnier. Let's put it this way, brown and green are not the best colours to mix in a glass. I've witnessed Margarita's that looked horribly unappetizing, because of the additional of Grand Marnier. Stick to a clear triple sec style liqueur or curacao.

Should you add sugar to a Margarita? For a purist, no, but chances of having one of them sitting at your bar are slim. Plus, you'll probably recognize them as Robert Hess, Ted Haig, Dave Wondrich or one of the other cocktail luminaries. The reality is, most people have adapted to a sweeter drink and the classic Margarita recipe can be a bit tart. A little additional sweetness helps to balance out the recipe and bridges the gap between classic and lime slushy. One teaspoon is enough sugar, in a properly made Margarita.

Speaking of sugar, my personal preference is fructose (½ teaspoon) instead of table sugar (sucrose). I find it works better with the lime's tartness and gives a smoothness to the Margarita. You can find pure fructose at most health food stores.

If you are a practicing bartender, your primary function is always sales, secondary is "cocktail conversion". This means that even though you may really like a Margarita that cockles your face, statistically most people do not. That means a little sweetness will keep people coming back. If you do find a person who likes some pucker power in their Margarita, you can always add more lime juice to balance it out, and then adjust their next order.

Margarita Salt Rim

The salt rim is one of the key elements of a Margarita, otherwise it's just a Tequila Kamikaze. Choosing a decent salt will really help the drink. I like to use a "flaked" sea salt, because the larger crystals dissolves slower on the tongue and don't overpower your palate like regular, fine grain, table salt. Koshering salt works fine, but is almost the same as common table salt, just larger grain. If you are feeling really creative, you can pick up "gourmet" sea salts like Himalayan Pink, Grey Sea Salt, Fleur de Sel or Bolivian Rose Salt. For something really interesting try finding Vanilla Fleur de Sel or Bali Coconut and Lime Smoked Sea Salt.

The vanilla salt rim, even though none traditional, is a great way to increase perceived sweetness. Just using the aroma of vanilla has been scientifically proven to make people believe their drink is sweeter than it actually is.

The main thing to keep in mind is that the rim should be lightly salted, not encrusted. The Margarita is about balance, and should not taste like a "salt lick" found on a farm. If you still find that too salty, try mixing it with a bit of sugar (courtesy of the Skinny Girl Margarita) or, better yet, fructose. One of the properties of crystalline fructose is that it causes a cooling sensation on the tongue when the crystals melt. Just another level of refreshing.

The interesting thing about this simple recipe is how the taste components interact with one another. The simplest example is the balance of sweet and sour.

Less obvious is how salt interacts. First, salt can dramatically reduce bitter flavours. On the surface most people would say there is nothing bitter about a Margarita. In reality, there are many bitter components in this recipe. Triple sec, even though very sweet, is made from bitter orange peel. Lime juice has many bitter components, even though we think of it as sour. Finally, tequila can be bitter to many people, partially because of the natural plant materials used in its production, plus alcohol is perceived as bitter by many people (super-taster and some normal tasters). When used in proper proportions, the salt reduces these bitter qualities and makes the drink very smooth and highlights the more agreeable flavours.

Additionally, salt decreases the tartness of the lime juice and increases the sweetness of the sugars in the Margarita. Finally, salt is a natural flavour enhancer, so it can improve the flavour of the cocktail. If done properly, salt can be the key component in any Margarita recipe.

Sadly, so many bartenders have gone way overboard on the salt rimming, that it is now an "optional" component. Aside from the aversive taste of a mouthful of salt, people (girls mostly) worry about water retention from excess salt consumption. Assuming the salt is kept under control, the classic Margarita recipe weighs in at a mere 196 calories. Water retention is a lot easier to deal with, than the calories from a sugar laden cocktail.

Here's my key recommendation for a great Margarita:

Keep your salt rim as thin as possible and use larger salt crystals 

If made properly, the Margarita is an absolute pleasure to drink. Given a classic Margarita recipe, with a proper salt rim, most people will refuse to go back to their once beloved Lime Green Slushies.

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