Classic Margarita Cocktail (On The Rocks)

margarita with lime and a slice of orage

5 from 1 vote

Classic Margarita Cocktail (On The Rocks)

A light, bright, somewhat boozy, slightly green, pearly-opaque drink with layers of citrus, tartness, saline, and thirst-quenching freshness.

Prep Time15

Total Time15

Course: Beverages, Cocktails

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings:

Calories: 243kcal

Author: Judy Purcell

Ingredients

2 oz tequila blanco
1 oz Cointreau
.75 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
.25 oz simple syrup SEE NOTES
Ice for shaking and serving
Kosher salt for rimming the glass
Lime wedge for garnish
Slice of cara cara orange for garnish, as shown (optional)

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Instructions

Rim half of your glass with salt, then fill the glass 3/4 full with ice.
Here's how to salt the rim: Set out a shallow saucer with salt spread evenly across the center. Cut a lime wedge and slice into the center of the flesh. Stick the rim of the glass into the sliced part of the lime to use the juice of the lime to wet the rim. Roll the glass gently, wet side down, over the salt. I usually do a ¾-inch salt rim on half of the glass. This should result in a very pretty rim and not too much salt.
Add the tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker with about a cup of ice. Shake for 8 seconds.
Pour into the prepared glass. Top with a lime wedge and slide a slice of orange down the side (optional).

Notes

This recipe packs a punch with a full 3 ounces of liquor per beverage.

How to Make Simple Syrup for Cocktails: Simple Syrup is equal parts cane sugar and water. All you have to do is heat the water to dissolve the sugar completely. You may also use a sugar alternative like honey, coconut palm sugar, brown sugar, whatever is in the cabinet. It may affect the flavor slightly but consider it an adventure.

NOTE: Shaking a cocktail is one of the most important steps in bartending and ice size matters. Ice size: Most folks have standard refrigerator ice which, due to its smaller size, dilutes much quicker than the ice that many professional cocktail bars use.

For home ice, I give it a quick shake, anywhere from 5-8 seconds. If you shake it too long, the drink may become so diluted that it will taste watered down. If you shake it too short, it may taste a bit too intense. Mind you, you’ll be pouring it over fresh ice, which will cause further dilution in time, so it is best practice to shake less in most cases.

PRO TIP: I do not recommend “dirty dumping”, which is when you shake your cocktail and then dump all the contents from the shaker into the glass to use that same ice in the drink. Fresh ice is full-sized and will melt more slowly than small chips, leading to a better quality cocktail.

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