This is my "go to" margarita because of the ease of preparation and the simplicity of ingredients.
1oz orange liqueur, 2oz tequila, 3oz limeade, 1/2 lime, shaken with ice.
- Lime
- Kosher salt
- Ice
- "Good" quality orange liqueur, like Harlequin Orange Liqueur
- "High" quality Reposado tequilia, like Cazadores
- Simply Limeade
- Drink shaker
I think margarita glasses are silly. I prefer tulip glasses.
- Moisten the rim of the glass with real lime juice using a slice of lime
- Pour a layer of kosher salt onto a small plate, invert the glass, and spin the rim of the glass through the salt
- Add 5-6 large ice cubes to the glass
- Fill the shaker half full with ice and add:
- 1oz orange liqueur
- 2oz tequila
- 3oz limeade
- 1/2 lime, squeezed and placed whole into the shaker
- Shake vigorously for several seconds (This is important! You want to chill the drink and add some water to cut the alcohol. Simply stirring won't give the same effect.)
- Pour, strained, over ice in glass
Blanco, Reposado, and Añejo tequila are generally the same spirit, differing only in the amount of time spent aged in oak.
- Blanco ("white") is un-aged or aged less than 2 months. Sometimes called "Silver".
- Reposado ("rested") is aged 2 months to 1 year.
- Añejo ("aged") is aged 1 to 3 years.
I prefer Reposado in my margaritas, lending the drink a slightly richer flavor than the Blanco, but not as overpowering as the Añejo.
For the orange liqeur, I agree with Dennis Hahn in his article titled "TRIPLE SEC: DO YOU KNOW WHAT’S IN IT?" when he says the following:
Harlequin Orange Liqueur is similar to Grand Marnier in that it is made with cognac. In fact, I prefer Harlequin for mixed drinks because it is less expensive and the difference is difficult to distinguish in cocktails.