Celebrate the Marvelous Margarita – Most Delicious Cocktail

Are you one of the millions that have made the margarita the most popular cocktail in America? We are. Lucky for me, Sweet Shark makes an amazing, marvelous margarita. Lucky for you, I’m sharing this delicious margarita recipe with you.

If it is Sunday around 5:30 or so, you can find Sweet Shark and me at his bar, enjoying happy hour with one of America’s very favorite cocktails, the marvelous Margarita. It’s one of my personal favorite cocktails, too.

Then, for years, we would head to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. We didn’t order a margarita there, but we may just share a beer.

We don’t just love margaritas with Mexican cuisine; they are great with barbecue, hamburgers, and anything grilled – just about any time of year.

During Covid, we started ordering online, picking dinner up, and bringing it home. We liked this new arrangement, so we are still doing that.

I hate to brag, but Sweet Shark makes one of the best margaritas you will ever have. Ever. He’s had lots of practice if you figure maybe 40 Sundays out of the year making two margaritas plus other occasions, such as Memorial Day, 4th of July or Labor Day.  

It’s hard for me to even order a margarita out because they are either too sweet or too tart.

July 24 was National Tequila Day. July 14 was National Grand Marnier Day. And, although I don’t quite understand this, February 22 is National Margarita Day. It’s just around the corner, so it’s a great time to share this special margarita recipe.

Whatever the date or time of year, it’s the perfect time to celebrate the marvelous margarita. It doesn’t even have to be a hot day to enjoy these delicious margaritas.

What is a Margarita?

Unless you’ve been living on Mars (where a margarita would definitely be appreciated), you probably know that a margarita is a cocktail, consisting of tequila, an orange liqueur, and fresh lime juice or lemon juice.

Usually, salt rims the glass and it is served on the rocks or frozen. (The frozen margarita was invented at Mariano’s Restaurant here in Dallas back in the ’70s.)

The margarita is consistently rated as one of the most popular cocktails in America – that’s why we celebrate the marvelous margarita. With good reason:

• It’s refreshing.
• It has a slight sweetness.
• The light and bright flavor of a good-quality orange liqueur.
• The tangy taste of a good-quality silver or gold tequila.
• The acidity of fresh lime juice – balances out all the flavors to create a super satisfying drink.

I was a grown adult when I first drank a margarita. I mean, this is Texas. It’s like the state cocktail.

Why? The salt. As much as I love what salt does for food, I just couldn’t get over putting a salt-rimmed glass to my lips.

Then one evening, someone said to me, “You can order it without the salt rim”. Really? O.K., I’ll try it. I was sold, and I’ve loved margaritas ever since.

The Marvelous Margarita: A Cocktail to Celebrate

I have to tell you, it wasn’t until I met Sweet Shark and he made me a margarita for the first time that I knew what a really good, clean-tasting margarita tastes like.

No, bottled lime juice, no added sugar, no cheap tequila, no funky colors. (My first saltless margarita was blue! and I regretted it the next morning!!) I rarely order a margarita out at a restaurant because I’m spoiled.

Sweet Shark and I are not frozen margarita people. We are saltless, on-the-rocks-people.

So, let’s pretend it’s Sunday, happy hour time, and let’s have one together.

The Glass for the Marvelous Margarita.

Here’s what a margarita glass typically looks like.

You will probably find this unusual, but although we have some margarita glasses, we usually don’t drink our margaritas in them. They are shallow and I don’t want to spill one bit of good stuff out of the glass.

On Sunday, while Sweet Shark is gathering his ingredients, he asks me, “Which glasses do you want to use?”

Here are a few of our choices:

The glass on the left was a wedding present (started with 6 and now we are down to 3); the glass in the center was part of a set of Fiesta glasses and a pitcher that I bought at an antique mall (We started with only 7 glasses and now have 6.) that I love – exactly my colors.

The glass on the right I bought online from Williams-Sonoma (set of 6), which, unfortunately, I can’t find online anymore. They have our monogram, which is easy since Sweet Shark and I have the same initials.

Whatever cocktail glasses you choose, make sure it has a delicious margarita inside it.

The Equipment

• small cutting board – for cutting the limes
• a juicer – for juicing the limes
• a cocktail shaker – margaritas are shaken, not stirred

This is our favorite juicer – it’s easy to use. The pressing action really gets out a lot of juice. It can go in the dishwasher, but most of the time we just run it under the faucet with hot water.

This juicer also comes in a smaller size for limes and a bigger size for oranges. We use the lemon one for both lemons and limes. Sweet Shark keeps one in his bar and I keep one in the kitchen. His and Hers juicers.

For other essential bar equipment, you can check out this list of 20 essential cocktail tools.

The Margarita Ingredients

Margaritas have 4 simple ingredients:

• tequila – make sure it’s a good quality 100% agave tequila
• orange liqueur – most margaritas are made with Triple Sec or Cointreau. If you really want to get fancy, you can make it with Grand Marnier (that’s called a ), an orange-flavored Cognac; order a “Top Shelf” Margarita in a restaurant and this is what you get – it’s also more expensive.
• Sweet Shark uses a splash of Mr. and Mrs. T Sweet & Sour to balance the sweetness of the orange liqueur. You could add a splash of Agave Nectar or a smaller amount of simple syrup.

• freshly-squeezed lime juice, or if you like, lemon juice. Fresh is the key here. No bottled lime juice. And not just fresh juice, but fresh limes. No limes that have been hiding in the crisper for a week. If your margarita tastes off, old limes are probably the culprit. Slice the limes in half with a paring knife. Sweet Shark keeps a small cutting board in his bar just for this task.

The Margarita Recipe

There are dozens of versions of classic or traditional margaritas and this one is Sweet Shark’s special one. (There are also versions with added fruit flavors.) I can guarantee that it’s one of the best. I hope you enjoy it.

Everything You Need to Make a Margarita

BE SURE TO PIN this recipe. You do not want to forget it when you need a delicious marvelous margarita out by the pool.