The delicious, humble Margarita

The Margarita is rightfully one of the most popular cocktails on this planet. It is also one of the easiest ones to make. These are the kind of cocktails I like—no bullshit, and most people can do a better job making it at home than most “bartenders”.

In order to make a good and proper ‘rita, you’ll need: tequila, triple sec, ice, lime juice, and salt (I prefer sea salt that is not too finely crushed), a cocktail shaker and of course, a margarita, cocktail, or old-fashioned glass—I prefer a short, stout glass with a capacity of around 180-200 ml. If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, any small, airtight container will do.

I generally keep everything ready before starting, to avoid last minute mess-ups. First, use a wedge or half a lime to moisten the rim of the glass from the outside. Then, pour out some salt onto a saucer. Gently dab the outside rim of the glass on the salt so that sufficient salt sticks to it. Some people only rim half the glass, particularly if you’re making the drink for someone else, so that those who don’t like their margaritas salted may drink from the unsalted edge. Fill two-thirds (or more) of the glass with crushed ice.

Next, put some ice into the cocktail shaker. Squeeze lime juice over it. I generally go with a little more than the juice of half a lime. Obviously, after making a couple, you’ll arrive at the exact quantity for you.

Then you pour around 1.5 fluid ounces (45 ml) of tequila and half an ounce (15 ml) of triple sec into the shaker. As with the mojito, I tried measuring these quantities exactly at some point, but decided that the taste of the finished product wasn’t worth the trouble. The key point in learning to mix drinks (especially for yourself) is to hone your instincts in terms of measurements. I just pour what I feel is three times the tequila to the amount of triple sec. Give the cocktail shaker a good 30-second shake, and then pour the liquid over the ice-filled glass. If you don’t have a proper shaker and are using an airtight container instead, you may hold a fork against the rim of the container while pouring to ensure none of the ice (one bartender I saw on Youtube refers to it as “tired ice”) enters the drink. Et voila! Vous avez un margarita!