The Best Margarita Recipes for Every Palate

• By WineBottleMag
• February 19, 2025
• Margarita Palate Recipes
• With 0 comments

As with many classic cocktails, the specs for the best margarita recipe depend on whom you ask. Do you prefer sweeter or tangier drinks? Tequila or mezcal? And what about the orange liqueur—is triple sec or Cointreau better for margaritas, or should you scrap the orange and go for broke with blue curaçao?

Fortunately, there are more right than wrong answers.

“It’s delicious in every way possible,” says Ronnie Muñoz, the culinary director at Mirate in Los Angeles. He’s partial to Tommy’s margaritas, a riff that swaps the orange liqueur for agave syrup. Muñoz often opts for mezcal rather than traditional tequila, as well.

A margarita can take a lot of forms and please countless palates.

“It’s super accessible and it takes on other flavors well, like fruit purées and other spirits with other flavor profiles,” he says. “To us, to me, it’s just a very fun cocktail to make and to drink. It’s universally loved.”

A margarita can be a practical or sentimental choice.

“They’re familiar, delicious, potent and hard to mess up,” says Kara Newman, spirits reviewer for Wine Enthusiast. “Even a ‘bad’ margarita tends to be pretty good.” She adds that, as many of us have sipped margaritas on vacation or at dinners with friends, we often associate the cocktail with fun, celebratory times.

“It also doesn’t hurt that tequila has become one of the most popular spirits in America, and that margaritas now come in such a wide range of variations,” says Newman.

In a divided world, margaritas offer something for everyone.

One Drink, Many Variations

Margaritas are typically made with tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice. Some may include an additional sweetener like simple syrup or agave nectar.

Within that rubric lies a world of possibility, according to John deBary, author of Drink What You Want.

“You can find a tremendous variation in margaritas simply by switching the kind of tequila and orange liqueur you use,” he writes. “Try one with blanco and Cointreau, and try another with reposado and Grand Marnier, or swap the tequila for mezcal. This drink can take many forms.”

Below, we’ve rounded up our favorites.

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Classic Margarita Recipe

The origin of the iconic margarita is hotly debated. Get the story behind this classic tequila cocktail and learn how to make one properly.

The Mezcal Margarita

Mezcal in place of Tequila is a cocktail no-brainer. Try this mezcal margarita recipe for a smoky, earthy take on a classic margarita, complete with a spicy-salty rim.

Pineapple Margarita

While some fruits create cloying cocktails, tangy pineapples are suited to the margarita rubric. Make this pineapple margarita recipe today.

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Frozen Margarita with Leftover Champagne

Along with flat Champagne, you can also use sparkling wine like Prosecco to make this indulgent frozen baller margarita.

Non-Alcoholic Margarita

Fresh citrus and non-alcoholic tequila keep this cocktail balanced. Get the virgin margarita recipe here.

Blue Margarita

All it takes is one ingredient swap to turn a classic margarita blue. Learn how in this blue margarita recipe.

Spicy Margarita

The margarita is the most popular drink in America, and this spicy margarita recipe gives the classic a spirited kick.

The Hibiscus Margarita

This cocktail honors artist Frida­ Kahlo, who used to serve guests refreshing hibiscus tea after a long journey. Now, it’s the key ingredient in this floral-accented hibiscus margarita, a cool refreshing sipper for a hot sunny day.

Watermelon Margarita

Fresh watermelon and crisp tequila headline this fruity frozen cocktail. Get the watermelon margarita recipe here.

Easy Strawberry Margarita

Fruit purée and cilantro give this strawberry margarita a fresh twist, while bitters balance the fruit’s natural sweetness.

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Tommy’s Margarita

The three-ingredient Tommy’s margarita—Muñoz’s favorite—arguably kickstarted the current craze for agave spirits. It’s a simple mix of tequila, agave nectar and fresh lime juice.

Apple Cider Margarita

Autumn’s answer to the classic agave cocktail, the viral apple cider margarita combines fresh cider with seasonal spice and a festive cinnamon-sugar rim. Try it out. 

Tamarind Margarita

Tamarind, the tangy, sweet-sour fruit that hails from Africa, India and the Middle East, seemed to blow up on the international stage. Turns out its unique flavor, a core part of Mexican cuisine, also elevates the already perfect margarita to new heights. Check out our tamarind margarita recipe here.

Blood Orange Margarita

The blood orange margarita kicks the color of the classic up a notch with the crimson-hued juice from its namesake citrus.

Mistletoe Margarita

The viral mistletoe margarita has been making the holiday rounds for nearly a decade now. But the slightly sweet, slightly sour and subtly herbal cocktail with cranberry juice, rosemary garnish and sugared cranberry rim is delicious no matter the time of year.

King’s Spicy Margarita

The King’s Spicy Margarita takes your average chili-infused version and gives it a unique Southwest twist due to the addition of King Floyd’s Green Chili Bitters with fresh and roasted poblano, green hatch and jalapeño chilies sourced from New Mexico.

Salted Margarita

Skip the salt rim in favor of pickle brine in this salted margarita recipe by Adam Bernbach for his former bar 2 Birds 1 Stone in Washington, D.C.

Salt Air Margarita

This saline riff by famed chef and humanitarian José Andrés features a foamy component that’s easy to make but is sure to wow guests. Take a look at his modernist Salt Air Margarita recipe here.

Nuestra Margarita

The Nuestra margarita is basically your classic but with key lime juice and an orange peel.

Detox Margarita

We’re not really sure what classifies an agave-based drink as a “detox” margarita, but this combination of fresh lemon sour, reposado tequila, aloe water and other classic ingredients sure as heck sounds worth mixing up. 

Coconut Christmas Margarita

Created just a little too late for Jimmy Buffett to write an ode to it, the festive coconut Christmas margarita combines coconut milk, cannabis-infused coconut cream, lime juice, reposado tequila, triple sec and orgeat syrup for a holidays-in-the-tropics kind of vibe.

Mexican Martini

A margarita in all but name, the Mexican martini shakes up blanco tequila with all the classic ingredients along with olive brine and pitted olives.

Mi Casa Margarita

Another smoky rendition, the Mi Casa margarita combines equal parts mezcal and blanco tequila with fresh lime, orange liqueur and agave syrup with a smoked salt rim.

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More Margarita Coverage

• Feeling lazy? Here are the best ready-to-drink margaritas.
• The 14 best frozen margarita machines for at-home drinks.
• The eight most popular tequilas for margaritas.
• On a budget? The best tequila under $40.
• But here are the best tequilas at every price point.

The post The Best Margarita Recipes for Every Palate appeared first on Wine Enthusiast.

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