How to Make a Margarita from Scratch

From hot summer days on the beach to those inescapable Jimmy Buffett lyrics, the margarita is universally recognized. Interestingly enough, as popular as this drink is, its origin is far from well known. There are plenty of origin stories and many of them seem plausible, but one true origin is hard to pinpoint. 

What seems to be true in every story is that the margarita’s popularity in America grew exponentially during prohibition years as Americans crossed the border for their fix of drinks. The Mexican-American beverage became a symbol for kicking back and relaxing and forgetting about all your worries, no matter how big or small they might be.

The margarita still serves that purpose today. And if one of your worries is learning how to make a delicious, refreshing margarita from scratch at home (without having to use store-bought margarita mixes), we have just the solution for you!

Here’s how to make a margarita from scratch with a few tasty twists:

 A Classic, Zesty Margarita Recipe

This is the iconic margarita often served cold in a coupe glass. To craft this drink, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• 2 ounces of tequila
• 1 ounce of freshly squeezed lime juice
• ½ ounce of orange liqueur 
• ½ ounce of agave syrup 
• Lime wheel and salt to garnish 

To Prepare:

1. To garnish your glass with a salted rim, pour some salt onto a plate, wet the rim of the glass with a bit of lime juice and press the rim of the glass down onto the bed of salt
2. Take all of the ingredients into your shaker and shake vigorously with ice until very chilled
3. Strain into your glass of choice, already chilled and filled with ice
4. Garnish with the lime wheel

This recipe is sure to give you an incredibly tasty and refreshing margarita that’s great to relax on your own or with friends. The orange liqueur is a bit of an elevated way to bring out some zest, and the agave syrup is a contextually appropriate sweetener, but lime juice and sugar along with the tequila craft a perfectly acceptable margarita as well. 

A Cooler Take on the Classic Margarita Recipe

Sometimes, the hot summer day calls for an even cooler, even more refreshing drink. In this case, a frozen or blended margarita might very well be the perfect option. This preparation is just as quick and simple and only requires one extra piece of titular equipment: a blender. 

We’ll use the same ingredients as before, adjusting for volume. This recipe will yield four (larger and stronger) servings. You’ll need:

• 1 cup of tequila
• 1 cup of lime juice
• ½ cup of orange liqueur 
• 2 tablespoons of agave syrup 
• 6 cups of ice

To prepare:

1. Take all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth 
2. Pour into 4 glasses 

How to Make Margarita Mix Recipe

While the preparation for a margarita isn’t all that tough, getting out all the bottles and ingredients might still be a step that you just don’t have the energy for. (We’ve all had days where we don’t even change the channel because the TV is on the far side of the couch.) As a preemptive solution for this, you can make your very own and delicious margarita mix in advance! Here’s one recipe that is sure to leave your guests asking what margarita mix you’re using to buy some for themselves.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 2/3 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice 
• 1 teaspoon of orange zest
• 1 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 teaspoons of lime zest 
• ½ teaspoon of salt 

To prepare this mix:

1. Take all of your ingredients into a small saucepan over medium heat
2. Stir frequently until the sugar is completely dissolved, this should take 4-5 minutes 
3. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool 
4. Bottle in an airtight bottle and store in the fridge

This preparation is incredibly convenient. Whenever you want to whip up a margarita later, just take out your premade mixture and shake together two ounces of it with two ounces of tequila until chilled and serve it over ice.

If you want a frozen margarita, freeze your mixture into ice cubes and blend together equal parts of your frozen mixture and tequila. Either way, you’ll have a refreshing drink to sip without the fuss of finding all of the appropriate ingredients. 

Get all the ingredients you need to make a margarita from scratch by visiting your local Zipps Liquor store!

Visit your local Zipps Liquor store to stock up on your favorite beer, wine, & spirits!