This is the best margarita recipe. Made with fresh lime juice and a few dashes of orange bitters. Perfect for home or to share with friends at a party. The addition of bitters gives this classic margarita cocktail a wonderful layer of flavor.

Best Margarita Cocktail Recipe on board

Margarita Cocktail with Fresh Lime Juice – simply the best

Call us suckered, hoodwinked, or duped. We believe in magic potions. Someone hawking small bottles of potion, proclaiming outlandish results. Hmmm. Out of curiosity, we’ll skeptically try the potion. A few shakes in a cocktail drink. A very familiar cocktail. But with a mere few dashes of this elixir it became something new. Better. Incredibly delicious. It really is the best margarita cocktail.

Cocktail bitters are mystical potions which marries the ingredients of a cocktail together. Just about anytime we find a bar making exceptional cocktails drinks, it is almost a guarantee that they have a beautiful stock of bitters frequently reached for behind the bar. Often times, there are bitters they are making themselves amongst the bottles. This is the start to the best margarita recipe.

Best Margarita Cocktail Recipe with fresh limes

Our discovery of bitters’ magic powers first came to fruition in the pages of a book. Not for the lack of signs trying to tell us the same thing. A reader commented about our use of triple sec in an old margarita recipe, disapproving of its unctuous sweetness and mentioned it would be much better with some simple syrup and bitters instead. (Side note – there are better options than classic triple sec. Explore all the different orange liqueurs out there). We come home from a crafty bar just loving their cocktails and we’ll be all aflutter talking about their house made bitters.

Bitters for Margarita Cocktails

Time after time, bitters had been under our noses, and yet we passed right over their magic. But all of these subtle and not so subtle hints took us along our path. Ripening for the moment when we laid hands on the book Bitters by Brad Thomas Parsons.

We first discovered the book were meeting with the publishers of Ten Speed Press to discuss a project we were working on with them, and we spied the Bitters book on their shelf. They must have seen the twinkle in our eyes, because the lovely ladies at Ten Speed handed us the book to take home as we concluded our meeting.

After perusing book it had us excited. Beyond being a great read and resource, it changed how we make cocktails.

Video on Making a Classic Margarita with Fresh Lime & Bitters

Best Margarita Cocktail Bitters Book

We’ve made many a homemade bitter with the help of Parsons’ book. The process of bitters is about a month long, but well worth the time and experimentation. We always have to have a batch of bitters on hand from our Algerian tangerines.

Bitters for a cocktail is like the pepper and salt to a dish. Or the fish sauce to Vietnamese cuisine. By themselves it is a bit overpowering, but when added with the other ingredients they season it perfectly. Make two classic cocktails, one with bitters and one without and see which you like better. It will almost always be the one with the bitters.

Not sure what else to do with all your homemade bitters?

Start with adding some to plain soda water for a homemade flavored sparkling water. No need to buy La Croix again. Is your stomach a little uneasy? That soda water with a few dashes of bitters may be the trick to settling your tummy.

Like most everything good in cocktails recipes there is always folklore and mystery involved and bitters are no exception. It is part of the beauty. One legend which we’ve yet to try but is fun to share, is the no-fail cure to hiccups. Soak a sugar coated lemon wedge with Angostura bitters and take a bite. Hiccups will be gone.

Enjoy! We’re off to sip on a delicious margarita.

Classic Margarita w/ fresh Lime & Bitters

Yield: 1 Cocktail
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Note how the cocktail smells before you shake it. Soon you'll recognize the scent of a well made margarita and will be able to make up a batch of them just by scent. 
Taste will vary a lot depending on the orange liqueur you use (triple sec, Cointreau, Grand Marnier, etc.) and on the acidity & flavorfulness of your limes. Adjust to your liking. If you aren't sure, we suggest doing a shake with no simple syrup, tasting it, then adding some simple syrup to your preference.
If you don't have any orange bitters, don't worry it will still be delicious. Or if you have the orange bitters but no orange liqueur, increase the simple syrup a little and add a few more dashes of the orange bitters.
4.82 from 11 votes
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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) Tequila we prefer Resposada or Anejo for this cocktail
  • 1 ounce (30 ml) Orange Liqueur , or to taste *see headnote
  • 1 ounce (30 ml) fresh Lime Juice
  • 1/2 ounce (15 ml) Simple Syrup , or to taste *see headnote
  • a few dashes Orange Bitters , optional
  • flaky salt for the rim (optional)

Instructions 

  • For a Salted Rim: Rub the rim of an old fashioned glass (or whatever glass you prefer) with an edge of a lime slice.  Swirl the rim through a small pile of flaky salt to salt the rim. Add ice into the glass.
  • Combine 1 1/2 ounces (45ml) tequila, 1 ounce (30ml) orange liqueur, 1 ounce (30ml) lime juice, 1/2 ounce (15ml) simple syrup, and bitters in an ice filled shaker.
  • Shake vigorously for about 15 seconds, making sure the margarita is nice and chilled. The shaking also helps lightly dilute the cocktail to a proper portion.
  • Strain into the prepared glass. Serve or drink immediately and with leisure.

Notes

Note 1: Simple syrup is a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water. We’ll usually do one cup (240ml) sugar dissolved in one cup (240ml) of water. This can always be modified for preferred taste and experimentation, but this is a good starting point.

Video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 185kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Sodium: 18mg, Potassium: 68mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 21g, Vitamin A: 21IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 10mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Calories: 185

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