13 Fiesta-Ready Margarita Recipes for Cinco de Mayo

Serves 1

1 ½ ounces silver tequila 1 ounce Grand Marnier ½ ounce triple sec 1 lime Splash of bar sugar to taste Salt (optional)

Fill a mixing glass with ice; add ingredients (squeezing lime juice into drink); stir until chilled. Strain into a salt-rimmed glass over rocks. Alternate: Shake all the ingredients with cracked ice in a cocktail shaker until the exterior frosts. Strain into a glass over rocks.

Garnish with a wedge of lime.

Serves 1

2 ounce 100% pure blue agave tequila 1 ounce orange liqueur 2 juiced limes 2 sugar cubes 2 thin slice of fresh ginger root 2 inch cube of ice made with distilled or reverse osmosis water Salt Lime wedge

Pour the tequila, orange liquor, lime juice, sugar cubes and ginger root into a cocktail shaker and shake well. Once the ingredients are all shaken thoroughly together, pour contents into glass over a two inch ice cube. Garnish rim with salt and fresh lime wedge.

Makes 8 wedges

1 large ruby red grapefruit 2 envelopes plain gelatin ¾ cup tequila 2 tablespoons triple sec 1 tablespoon lime juice Agave nectar

Cut the grapefruit in half and scoop the insides out. Use a juicer to get as much as juice as possible. Save the halved grapefruit rinds.

Measure out 1 cup grapefruit juice and add to a saucepan. Sprinkle the plain gelatin onto the grapefruit juice and let sit for two minutes. Heat the grapefruit juice, stirring frequently until the plain gelatin is completely dissolved.

Remove from heat and add in the tequila, triple sec, lime juice, and some agave nectar. For a sweeter jello shot, add more agave nectar.

Place the grapefruit rind halves into bowls, then spoon the mixture into them until they are almost full. If you have remaining mixture, spoon it into plastic shot glasses or small cups.

Refrigerate the tequila-filled jello grapefruit halves and extra jello shots for at least four hours, or until fully set.

When fully set, cut the grapefruit halves into small chunks. Sprinkle with extra sugar and serve.

Serves 1

3 ounces fresh squeezed Cara Cara orange juice 2 ounces tequila ½ ounce fresh squeezed lime juice 1 ounce triple sec Sea salt

Rub the rim of a rocks glass with the edge of a Cara Cara orange slice. Swirl the rim through sea salt until coated.

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake for 15 seconds.

Put a few ice cubes in the glass and strain the cocktail over the ice. Garnish with a slice of Cara Cara Orange and a slice of lime.

Serves 4

1 lb strawberries, sliced 1 cup balsamic vinegar 1 ½ cups sugar 1 ½ cups tequila blanco 1 cup lime juice ½ cup triple sec Ice Lime and sugar for garnish

Simmer the strawberries, balsamic vinegar and sugar until the mixture is syrupy and the liquid has been reduced by half. Cool completely.

Ice your glasses to chill them while you prepare the margarita. Add the strawberry balsamic syrup, tequila, lime juice and triple sec into a blender. Fill remaining space in blender with ice. Blend until ice is crushed. Empty glasses, run a lime wedge along the rim and dip in a plate of sugar. Fill with margarita and serve.

Serves 4

1 ½ cups watermelon, diced 1 cup ginger simple syrup (recipe below) 1 ½ cups tequila blanco 1 cup lime juice ½ cup triple sec Ice Lime and margarita salt for garnish

Chill four glasses with ice. Throw watermelon, ginger simple syrup (recipe below), tequila, lime juice, triple sec, and ice into a blender and pulse until ice is completely crushed. Wait one minute for pulp to settle to the top. Skim the pulp using a fine mesh strainer. Empty the glasses and run a lime wedge along the rim of each glass. Dip the rims in margarita salt. Pour margarita into glasses and garnish with a lime wedge.

Ginger Simple Syrup Recipe: 1 ½ cups water 1 ½ cups sugar 2 ounces (about 2 pieces) ginger root, peeled and sliced.

Combine the water and sugar in a pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add ginger root and continue to cook until water begins to simmer. Remove from heat and let steep for at least one hour. Strain the liquid and store in an airtight container.

Serves 1

2 ounces silver tequila ¼ ounce elderflower liqueur 1 ounce fresh lime juice ¾ ounce thyme-infused simple syrup (recipe below) 3 strawberries Fresh thyme sprigs

In a cocktail shaker, muddle three strawberries with thyme-infused simple syrup.

Add the tequila, lime juice, and elderflower liqueur to the muddled strawberries. Fill the cocktail shaker with ice, about three quarters full. Shake well for 30 seconds.

Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a thyme sprig.

Thyme-Infused Simple Syrup Recipe: 1 cup white sugar 1 cup water 1 ½ tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, minced

Combine sugar and water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir thyme leaves. Let cool at room temperature for at least an hour. Strain thyme leaves and pour into a glass jar. Keep refrigerated for up to two weeks.

Serves 1

6 quarter inch slices of peeled cucumber 1-2 slices jalapeno, to taste (remove seeds for less kick) ½ tablespoons sugar, more or less to taste 1 ounce fresh lime juice 1.5 ounces tequila 1 ounce Grand Marnier

Combine cucumber, jalapeno, and sugar in a rocks glass. Muddle until cucumbers are crushed and have released their juices. Stir in lime juice and tequila. Add several ice cubes and top with Grand Marnier.

Serves 1

2.5 ounces tequila 1 ounce blood orange jalapeño syrup (recipe below) 2 ounces sour mix 1-2 lime wedges Sea salt for rim Blood orange slice

Add fresh ice to a cocktail shaker. Pour tequila, blood orange jalapeño syrup, and sour mix into the shaker. Squeeze a lime wedge and then shake all contents thoroughly. Rub lime wedge around the rim of your glass, then roll rim in sea salt. Add ice cubes to glass. Pour margarita. Garnish with blood orange and jalapeño slices.

Blood Orange and Jalapeño Syrup Recipe:
Add two cups of freshly squeezed blood orange juice (the juice of approximately 4-5 blood oranges) and one jalapeño (washed and stem sliced off) to a small saucepan and reduce over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the liquid has reduced by 40 to 50 percent, remove jalapeño and let cool. This will yield enough syrup to make 6-8 margaritas.

Serves 6-8

1 quart tequila 10.5 ounces triple sec 1 serrano pepper 10 lemons 1 cucumber ¾ cup mint leaves 1 cup water 1 cup sugar 1 jalapeño 0.5 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon sea salt 1 tablespoon sugar

Tequila prep: Cut the serrano pepper in half length-wise and put it in the tequila (leave the seeds in) over night.

Lemonade prep: Squeeze the lemons, peel the cucumber and cut it up into chunks. Put the ingredients in a blender along with the mint leaves. Make simple syrup out of the sugar and water and add it to the blender to mix with the other ingredients.

Strain the lemonade mix. This is optional, but it looks more presentable. Plus, the pulp is delicious to eat by itself.

Mix the tequila, triple sec and lemonade in a pitcher. Slice up a jalapeño for garnish. Mix the chili powder, sea salt and sugar in a small bowl, and coat the rim of the glasses.

If you don’t want to make a pitcher, you can use the following ratios: 1 part tequila and triple sec mix (use 1/3 of triple sec for every 1 part of tequila). 2 parts lemonade.

Serves 1

1.5 ounces of tequila 1 ounce of lime juice (half a lime) 1 ounce of Cointreau Small slice of jalapeno (quantity varies depending on how spicy you want it) 1 egg white

Combine above ingredients in shaker, pour over ice, and add any additional lime or jalapeno. Float one ounce of Grand Marnier.

Serves 4

½ cup chardonnay ½ cup orange Juice (no pulp) 6 ounces frozen limeade concentrate 3 cups ice Lime wedges Orange slices

Pour chardonnay, orange juice and limeade into a blender and blend. Add ice and blend until it reaches a slushy consistency. Decorate the rim of glasses with salt, an orange slice and a lime slice. Pour white wine margarita into glass and enjoy!

½ cup mango juice ½ cup peach puree 1/3 cup orange juice ¼ cup limeade 2/3 cup tequila 1 cup ice

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Garnish with salt and lime to serve.