Measure Cheat Sheet

Two ounces = double shot = ¼ cup. For a less potent cocktail, stick with one shot of tequila per cocktail.

Buying Tequila

I love Teramana tequila and find it to be a sinful steal at its regular price. Espolòn, El Jimador, or Lunazul are all pretty smooth and refined for affordable bottles. Corazón Blanco and Pueblo Viejo Blanco win the seal of approval from professional bartenders. And cost less than $17 for a 750-milliliter bottle.

Fruity Margaritas

You certainly can blend fresh whole fruit with the basic ingredients for a lovely drink. But I prefer to muddle a small number of berries, instead. Or shake in an ounce or two of a second fruit juice like pineapple or blood orange.

Whole Fruit. To infuse a classic margarita with fresh fruit in a subtle, classy fashion, first muddle the fruit. Then mix the drink. You can muddle fresh berries or the like in the cocktail shaker before adding the lime juice and alcohol. Or you can muddle the fruit directly in your glass and pour the shaken cocktail over it. It all depends on the color and fruit level you're after. Muddling in the cocktail shaker will give the drink a more pronounced fruit flavor and color. Muddling in the glass will give you speckles of fruit in the bottom of the glass, and a more reserved fruity essence that increases as you sip.

Fruit Juice. For fruit juices and nectars such as pineapple, orange, mango, passion fruit, or blood orange when the season is right, add an ounce or two of juice to the recipe. If you like a stronger drink, you may want to increase the tequila by a shot or two. Since adding fruit juice will alter the classic margarita formula.

Dietary Accommodations

Paleo. Orange liqueur is not quite prehistoric and contains processed sugar. So if you are a paleo stickler, swap in fresh-squeezed orange juice for the orange liqueur. Replace simple syrup with agave nectar. Or make a homemade honey syrup by bringing a quarter of a cup of honey and half of a cup of water just to a boil. Cool, and store chilled. 

GAPS Diet. Like with paleo, replace the orange liqueur with fresh-squeezed orange juice. And for a sweeter GAPS-legal margarita, make the honey syrup above to replace the simple syrup.

Keto or Low-Carb Margarita. A majority of the carbohydrate count in a classic margarita comes from the orange liqueur. So the easy way to eliminate it is to mix in less Triple Sec or Cointreau. If you'd like to eliminate it entirely, a small splash of fresh-squeezed orange juice or a few dashes of orange cocktail bitters are great substitutes.

Nutrition Information

The Nutrition Information below is based on an authentic margarita made following the recipe above. If you add simple syrup to your cocktails, the sugar content will be significantly higher.