The Best Margarita Recipes for Every Palate

As with many classic cocktails, the specs for the best margarita recipe depend on whom you ask. Do you prefer sweeter or tangier drinks? Tequila or mezcal? And what about the orange liqueur—is triple sec or Cointreau better for margaritas, or should you scrap the orange and go for broke with blue curaçao?

Fortunately, there are more right than wrong answers.

“It’s delicious in every way possible,” says Ronnie Muñoz, the culinary director at Mirate in Los Angeles. He’s partial to Tommy’s margaritas, a riff that swaps the orange liqueur for agave syrup. Muñoz often opts for mezcal rather than traditional tequila, as well.

A margarita can take a lot of forms and please countless palates.

“It’s super accessible and it takes on other flavors well, like fruit purées and other spirits with other flavor profiles,” he says. “To us, to me, it’s just a very fun cocktail to make and to drink. It’s universally loved.”

A margarita can be a practical or sentimental choice.

“They’re familiar, delicious, potent and hard to mess up,” says Kara Newman, spirits reviewer for Wine Enthusiast. “Even a ‘bad’ margarita tends to be pretty good.” She adds that, as many of us have sipped margaritas on vacation or at dinners with friends, we often associate the cocktail with fun, celebratory times.

“It also doesn’t hurt that tequila has become one of the most popular spirits in America, and that margaritas now come in such a wide range of variations,” says Newman.

In a divided world, margaritas offer something for everyone.

One Drink, Many Variations

Margaritas are typically made with tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice. Some may include an additional sweetener like simple syrup or agave nectar.

Within that rubric lies a world of possibility, according to John deBary, author of Drink What You Want.

“You can find a tremendous variation in margaritas simply by switching the kind of tequila and orange liqueur you use,” he writes. “Try one with blanco and Cointreau, and try another with reposado and Grand Marnier, or swap the tequila for mezcal. This drink can take many forms.”

Below, we’ve rounded up our favorites.

Classic Margarita Recipe

The origin of the iconic margarita is hotly debated. Get the story behind this classic tequila cocktail and learn how to make one properly.

The Mezcal Margarita

Mezcal in place of Tequila is a cocktail no-brainer. Try this mezcal margarita recipe for a smoky, earthy take on a classic margarita, complete with a spicy-salty rim.

Pineapple Margarita

While some fruits create cloying cocktails, tangy pineapples are suited to the margarita rubric. Make this pineapple margarita recipe today.