How to Make a Real Margarita

If you live in Mexico, sooner or later you are going to have to learn how to make a real Margarita. Forget  Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix. All those Mexican restaurants manage to make Margaritas without it. Very seriously, it is not possible to make a great Margarita with Margarita mix. So put that mix away and follow the simple instructions. Our first experience with real Margaritas happened on a visit to Puerto Vallarta a number of years ago when we wound up in a little palapa restaurant on the beach in Mismaloya. We both had one of those very large goblets. We each had one and then we split another one. In the process my wife went into the kitchen area where they were making these things and got the recipe. They were killer, literally. As we were walking back to our hotel for dinner, my wife said to me, "Those things were hallucinogenic!". We don't remember much about the rest of the evening, it's all sort of a blur.

So, Margaritas are fairly simple to make. They only have four ingredients, six if you count ice and salt. The four are: Tequila, Controy, lime juice and simple sugar syrup. Making the Simple Syrup. So the first step is to either buy or make the sugar syrup called Jarabe here in Mexico. I make it by the liter which will last for several weeks. The formula is simple (after all simple syrup should be simple, right?), two parts sugar to one part water. Take a pot, put in the water, I usually use a cup of water. Heat the water to boiling and add 2 cups sugar and stir and boil until all the sugar is dissolved. Let it cool before you use it. You only need to refrigerate it if it's going to be around for a while. Mixing the Margarita. This is for a margarita on the rocks, for those other slushy things, you're on your own. I'm just going to give you proportions so that you can use the receipe to make one drink or a dozen. If I'm making one drink I use a shot glass, and if I'm making a few I'll use a measuring cup. Have a plate with coarse salt handy and a piece of sliced lime. Take a Margarita glass and wipe the rim with the sliced lime and dip the rim into the plate of salt to get a nice coating of salt on the rim. Fill the glass full with ice cubes. We use the small key limes here which are the most plentiful type of limes. They are also a little sweeter. If I'm making one drink I just use three key limes. But for more exacting requirements, that's 2/3 of your favorite measuring device, shot glass, cup, etc. of lime juice. Tequila. Very important!!! Use only Tequila that says on the bottle: "100% agave". Your body will thank you and your head will thank you the next morning. If it doesn't say 100% agave, the Tequila is cut with grain alcohol, not very good for you and your tender little brain cells. Good Tequilas are Cazadores, Hornitos, Herradura Reposado (actually this Tequila should be sipped, it's really too good for Margaritas). Jose Cuervo Tradicional is also a good Tequila for Margaritas (not that Cuervo Gold stuff, that's for Gringoes). Don't waste your really expensive stuff on Margaritas, drink it straight! Mixing Continued. Add the 2/3 measure of lime juice and one full measure of Tequila, 1/3 measure of sugar syrup, and 1/3 measure of Controy. Stir and serve. It'll knock your socks off. Controy note: We use Controy here because it is made here and reasonably priced. It may not be possible to find it in the US or Canada. You can use Triple Sec  or Cointreau if you need to, but they are significantly more expensive and for my taste, they are a little strong and over power the drink, so use less if you use those. One last observation: Limes vary in sweetness/sourness, so don't be afraid to add more sugar syrup if the drink is too sour. The large limes sold in Norte America tend to be a little more sour. Salud!

If you try this recipe, bookmark the page and come back and let me know how it was. I'd love to get your feedback!

Comments

[Jonathan]

Seriously...
I like you, but that is not the correct ingredients for a real margarita.

First of all, since a margarita contains tequila there should be LEMON juice and not lime. Since you drink tequila with LEMON!

And yea, there should be sugar syrup aswell, just like you said.

Third, add an egg-white into the shaker among with the tequila, orange liquer, syrup and lemonjuice and SHAKE.

Thats how I make margaritas.
Peace.

[Ed Fladung]

I'm sorry Jonathan but you are wrong. The reason is that Margaritas are a Mexican drink and until recently, it was not possible to find lemons in Mexico. At this time the only stores carrying lemons are the Walmart stores. The type of lime that can be grown here is the small key lime. These limes are not hybrids and grow everywhere here. All attempts that I know of to bring lemon trees here and grow lemons have failed. The reason is that lemons are a hybrid and when they cross fertilize with the local key lime trees the results are that the lemon trees revert to limes, producing only key limes. The use of lemons is a United States invention by folks who don't have access to limes.

[Michelle]

Question: I want to try your receipe, (Yes I believe limes are for real margartias) but have a question: I know not to use bottled lime juice but to make a pitcher of margaritas, how many limes must I squeeze personally? This is the only pain in the butt that I forsee, since a pitcher may give my hubby & I (3) drinks each. With small kids I'm not sure I have the time/patience to squeeze 20 limes? Do you have any suggestions or tidbits? THANKS !!

[Jet]

When I'm in Mexico, they ONLY use LIMES. I've never gotten one with lemons while in Mexico.

[Ed Fladung]

In reply to Michelle: Sorry but somehow I missed your comment back in August. I use 3 limes per margarita. But realize that they are the small key limes, not the large ones. I use approximately 2/3 of a measure (I use a large Mexican shot glass) of lime juice for each drink. The way I make a Margarita, rarely does anyone come back for a second. I have never had anyone drink 3 of them. So typically I only have to squeese 3 small limes per person. Not a big deal.

[Judy]

I'm drinking one right now! It's perfect!

Thank you

[Msiagirl]

I made your recipe for my girls night in and we had a blast! I made two pitchers and squeezed about 9 big-ish limes. It was delicous, most people only had one - it was powerful too! Thank you for your instructions!

[Sarah Leitch]

Fabulous margarita.
thanks. no problem squeezing limes for end result.
so much better than bottled mix. Just need the sunset.

[John T.]

Your recipe is great. In the U.S., I can get key lime juice from Florida and it tastes great!

Ayudame, por favor! I'm in Mexico now and the limes are sweeter and taste different. Where can I find Key Limes? Do they go by a different name here? I've tried limas (small size) and limas larger. I have seen very small Limones (lemons) that are green and about the size of a golf ball. I forget the other word with it (it begins with "a", but not limones acido). I've tried using less Jarabe, but I'm still missing the tart taste I crave.

Gracias desde Guadalajara

[Ed]

I use the small "limones" that are the size of a golf ball. They do tend to be a bit sweeter than the large limes. I just adjust the amount of lime juice to jarabe and Controy to get the tartness right. Some people don't use Jarabe at all, just Controy. You might try that with the small limones.

[Ekepono]

Thanks for the recipe.
I ran beach bar in Puerto Escondido many years back(2000) and we made margaritas from the same 4 ingredients. I forgot the proportions of each and your recipe tastes quite delicious.

I also spent about 6 months between sayulita and P.V and camped at Bucerias when the highway construction started in 1999. What a great little town on the bay. Life is good.

[Vicki]

OK, you're so right! This is an absolutely wonderful recipe! The great thing is that, in the little fishing village we're in, on the west coast of Mexico, a lot of the restaurants make the drinks this way! It's great! Thank you for the ability to make an authentic Mexican margarita!!!

Thank you also, for explaining so much, like the difference between 100% agave and what we have in Canada. I'm a big fan!!!

Vicki from Vancouver Island, BC, Canada

[kwmi]

I just returned from Puerto Vallarta and, having had many delicious margaritas, took to search the web for a recipe. Let me say, this recipe is exactly how they are made in Mexico and they are delicious! I brought back with me a bottle of Landero's 100% de agave reposado tequila and one bottle of Casa Antigua orange-flavored tequila liquor (40 proof). In hindsight I wish had brought a bottle of Controy, but the man I spoke with assured me this tequila flavored liquor will make a nice margarita. I'm going to try it out today. Thanks for putting this up!

[Dave Marsh]

Very good Margarita and I can see why you don't drink too many of them. Your recipe is excellent.

Thank You

[William Lower]

I confess. I am one of those who likes frozen margaritas. (I have other character flaws, as well) and I am now living in Budapest, missing homemade margaritas. Apparently, Merix (sp?) TexMex in LA uses lemon and lime in their recipe. Tequila is hard to find here and very expensive but I am going to try some variation of your recipe this weekend. If you never hear from again, it was fatal. Wish me luck.

[William Lower]

Well, here I am in Budapest, not dead which means I did not exactly make a killer margarita but I don't think it is the fault of the recipe. And as I type this after a few sips of my marvel, I'm thinking maybe it's not so bad after all. We'll see hw the typng goes.

If this is not great, I think much can be attributed to the tequila I was able to procure. You know you're in trouble when the only bottle of tequila to be found in the store has a little plastic sombrero for a bottle cap. Would you buy a scotch that had a plastic kilt label? I think not.

I did find find Cointreau that did not appear to be knock-offs like the Sony batteries I buy here. And I did find fresh limes, although I don't know where they are from other than not Hungary. Most likely Mediterranean. My simple syrup was simple. You were right about that. I used 6 limes which produced one cup of juice, hand squeezed. I followed your recipe exactly, only bastardizing it by pouring everything over half a blender of ice cubes and blending. The measurements were 2/3 cup of the fresh lime juice, 1 cup Tequila, 1/3 cup syrup and 1/3 cup Cointreau.

I am not a purist, as you can tell. I just like a good margaritas and the only reason I am resorting to making one from scratch is because it would take Sherlock Holmes to find even a marginally acceptable mix around here.

This is quite good. I might even forget about the mix I usually buy when I'm in Canada (Bacardi frozen margarita mix). Thanks for this.

[Jerry]

These are delicious. I drank 4 just testing the no more than two rule. I advise no more than 3, even for the most avid drinker. I made them a couple of nights ago with a 1(water):1(sugar) simple syrup, and tonight with a 1(water):2(sugar) simple syrup. The 1:1 was much better.
BTW, I typed this post after four drinks.

[Dave Marsh]

I have been making the margarita and sticking pretty close to your recipe. They are marvelous. Sometimes if I have alot of people that are going to drink them, I will use a little margartia mix just to make it go farther. Thanks for the recipe.

[James]

Dude! this is AWESOME! Pretty easy to make, and tastes great.
My wife and I are big noobs and we like the blendy kind - basically I did what the canuck did above and made enough margarita to fill half the blender the filled the rest with chunk ice you get in a bag - blend it up for a few and BAM insta-margarita! Thanks for the great recipe my friend, and good tip on the 100% agave!