How to make the BEST margarita

And consequently, a bunch of new friends

Having a good margarita recipe may be one of the greatest tricks you can have up your sleeve. Always in season, but especially when the weather warms up, a good marg is the perfect companion to a backyard happy hour with friends. Lucky for you, I happen to have the best (and easiest) margarita recipe. And now you will too.

A word of warning: Prepare to be disenchanted by most future restaurant/bar made margaritas.

How to make the best margarita:

It’s as easy as 3-2-1!

3 ounces of tequila

I like ALTOS Plata or Reposado.

There’s no need to go fancy here, just make sure whatever you’re using is 100% AGAVE.

2 ounces of Cointreau

This is the secret sauce. And there really is no substitute. Spend the money, buy you a nice big bottle- Cointreau is your margarita’s best friend.

1 ounce of lime juice

If I’m feeling fancy I’ll squeeze it fresh, but if not, Santa Cruz Organic lime juice has one ingredient: organic lime juice.

1 ounce of agave nectar

This is the one variable in the recipe- adjust to your desired sweetness preference. I actually like mine with a half ounce. Annie takes even less than that.

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake vigorously for 10ish seconds.

This makes 2 servings, as far as I’m concerned- salt your rim if you like, add a slice of lime to the glass for garnish, add ice and pour!

A few variations:

The Spicy Margarita

Same as above only muddle 1-2 slices of fresh jalepeno in the cocktail shaker before adding ingredients.

Another (easier) way is to pick up some Scrappy’s Fire Tincture bitters and add 3-4 dashes to the shaker before shaking.

Either way, a couple of jalepeno slices makes a nice additional garnish and Tajin seasoning instead of salt on the rim is also a nice touch.

The peach margarita

Also a summertime staple around here and super easy! Just muddle one slice of peach to the cocktail shaker prior to adding ingredients.

Garnish with a peach slice on the glass!

Enjoy and lemme know what you think!

Happy Summer, yall!