5 Recipes And Tips To Spice Up Your Drink On National Margarita Day

The drink experts at The Bottle Club shared their secrets to the perfect margarita, the best tequila to use and how you can upgrade the classic cocktail. Here are five tips and recipes to level up your margarita skills.

1. Shaking with ice gives your margarita a distinct cloudy and frothy appearance, and ensures that your cocktail isn’t going to be flat and limp
2. Find a tequila labelled 100% agave, anything less and you’ll find that it’s mostly sugar. Patron Silver has delicious flavors including fruit, citrus and light pepper, and is our recommendation for the ultimate margarita.
3. Using fresh ingredients for your margarita will take it up a notch. Instead of using bottled juices, opt for freshly squeezed.
4. Level up your salted rim. You can use chile powder, ginger salt or cayenne pepper to upgrade the rim of your cocktail glass. When creating a flavored rim around your glass, be extra cautious as excess can fall into your cocktail, throwing off its flavors and balance. 
5. Take things up a notch with different flavors. adding chopped jalapeños, canned jalapeño liquid, fresh fruits and herbs to add seasonal flavors.

Try Your Hand With These Unique Recipes

Antonio’s Spicy Margarita

Born into a family of restaurateurs in Acapulco, Mexico, Antonio Bonilla hand-shakes his signature spicy margarita five-nights a week in the 1885 Victorian-era speakeasy room at The Apple Tree Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts.

¾ oz jalapeño-infused Cazadores blanco tequila

½ oz Cazadores blanco tequila 

¾ oz Green Chartreuse 

½ oz agave

½ oz lime 

½ oz orange juice 

splash cucumber juice 

1 dash orange bitters 

Combine in a shaker and shake hard. Double strain and pour over ice in a rock glass. Garnish with dried lime slice or cucumber wheel. 

Hornitos Spicy Cucumber Margarita 

3 parts Hornitos Plata Tequila

½ part DeKuyper Triple Sec

1 part lemon juice

1 part lime juice

1 part agave nectar (Optional)

1 mini cucumber

1 jalapeño

Muddle 1-2 thin slices of jalapeño in the bottom of a cocktail shaker with the lime, lemon and optional agave nectar. Add the Tequila, Triple Sec and a handful of ice. Shake and strain into a margarita glass over ice. Garnish with thinly sliced cucumbers, and jalapeño slices (optional for spice).

The Marg IZO Pastor

Co-Founded by Gaston Martinez – a native of Durango, Mexico, IZO Spirits is a collection of premium, handcrafted agave spirits produced sustainably in the heart of his rural hometown according to centuries of tradition, made sustainably from slow-roasted, wild agave hearts harvested on local ranches.

“Growing up in San Diego, Mexican cuisine has been a part of everyday life for me. This cocktail is inspired by the flavors of the delicious tacos al pastor. It offers an herbal kick with the sweet finish of pineapple that is synonymous with the classic dish,” says mixologist Joree Weatherly.

1.5oz IZO Mezcal

.5oz Ancho Reyes

1oz Fresh lime juice

.75oz pastor syrup*

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into salt-rimmed cocktail glass over ice.

*Pastor Syrup

Blend 1 cup agave nectar, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup pineapple juice, 5 cilantro sprigs, 5 Thai basil sprigs, 5 parsley sprigs, 5 grams cracked black pepper, 1/2 de-seeded jalapeño. In a covered pot, bring mixture to a low simmer for 5 minutes. Strain solids and let cool. Once cool, bottle and refrigerate. Syrup will last for 2 weeks. To fortify, add 2oz of your favorite tequila to extend shelf life to 1 month.

Tanteo Tequila Red-Pepper-Ita

1.75 oz. Tanteo Chipotle Tequila

.25 oz. mezcal

.75 oz. red pepper purée

1 oz. fresh lime juice

.5 oz. light agave nectar (or simple syrup)

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass, and add an optional smoky salt rim if desired. Garnish with a red pepper wedge.

What’s The Tea, Rosarita

This lovely margarita riff is made with hibiscus tea, beet juice and fresh lime to complement the elderflower and agave flavors of the base spirits. Ideal for any romantic occasion, it’s adorned with a single rose stem wrapped in a lime peel. 

1 oz PATRÓN Silver

1 oz St~Germain

.75 oz hibiscus tea

.75 oz beet juice 

. 50 oz freshly squeezed lime juice

 Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all ingredients and shake well. Strain into a chilled coupe and top with salted Rose Air.

Salted Rose Air (optional)

4 ounces water

2 ounces fresh lime juice

1 ½ teaspoons Sucro

1/12 teaspoons Maldon sea salt

½ rose water

 Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Using an immersion blender or hand blender, mix until bubbles form. Carefully spoon on top of the drink.