The Best Margarita
This is a stripped-down margarita; no sugar, no mixers, just four simple ingredients—the perfect path to bliss on a hot, humid day. Consume with caution: These babies are strong, but they go down easy.
Ingredients
- 1 lime cut into a wedge or circle to garnish, and the rest juiced
- Salt to rim glass
- 1½ ounces Patron Silver or other 100-percent agave silver tequila
- ¾ ounce Cointreau
Instructions
- Run lime wedge or circle around the rim of a margarita glass. Rim glass with salt. Fill glass with ice.
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Combine tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau in shaker, and shake vigorously for 20 to 30 seconds, or until shaker is frosty. Strain into glass.
Notes
TRY IT WITH: A Basque-style sheep’s milk cheese. “The margarita is the ultimate test of the concept that Basque sheep cheeses pair with anything and everything,” says Martin Johnson, the cheese, charcuterie, beer, and wine buyer for Gastronomie 491 in New York City. “The dominant flavors [of a margarita], citrus and agave, aren’t natural pairings for cheese, [but Basque sheep cheeses’] buttery flavor … that’s not a bad ending to a margarita.” We agree, and particularly enjoy manchego.