Meyer Lemon Margarita
This Meyer lemon margarita recipe was one of our first recipe posts back in 2010. It’s fun to see how our photography and garden has changed over the years! 
Meyer Lemon Margaritas
I have a little confession. I didn’t used to be very fond of Meyer Lemons. In fact, a scratch and sniff of a Meyer lemon rind rekindled memories of small stink bugs that gathered in mini-swarms during the warm summer months on ranch where I first teethed.
The bugs were small and innocent, yet when threatened they’d release a malodorous spray in the vicinity of any foe. Stumble upon a swarm of these little buggers and I’d be dancing about like a pinball trying not to run into one, lest I upset their delicacies. Many times failure would leave me perfumed with “eau de pew”. Worse yet, memories of them flying kamikaze into my maw still leave me cringing and wanting to rinse my mouth clean. It’ll teach you to keep you mouth shut, I guarantee.
Flavorful Meyer Lemon Margaritas
And these little golden treasures of the culinary world, the beautiful, brillant-yellow Meyer lemons, reminded me of that smell. Go figure. The juice is harmlessly tart, being lower on acid which gently softens its bite, and slightly sweet which adds an extra dimension over the typically delicious classic lemon, the Eureka. However, for me, the oils in the rind nearly alway trigger those foul olfactory memories of the stink bug.
Over ten years ago, Diane and I bought our first citrus tree to put on our tiny patio. A beautiful little lemon tree. A Meyer lemon tree. At that time I had no idea what a Meyer lemon was. A lemon is a lemon, right?
When our pride of the patio developed its first fruit, Diane squealed with joy while I sniffed the brilliant yellow prize and was instantly transported back to my childhood run-ins with the stink bugs. I put on my best happy face and gave her back the lemon grenade to enjoy all by herself.
Wonders of Meyer Lemon Juice
Years do funny things to our senses and slowly the Meyer lemon became less offensive to me. The juice was always wonderful on the palate, but it took a while before I could fully embrace the love of the Meyer. The sense of smell is very powerful, but within the last few years, my heart and nose have warmed to the Meyer lemon and my love for them now equals that which I extend to all of our other citrus. We’ll both joyfully coax and pamper our Meyer lemon tree trying to get it to produce as much of its fruit as the branches will bear.
Love of Lemons
We’ve always enjoyed using the juice of the Meyer lemon for cooking. Meyer lemon muffins or Meyer lemon curd are absolutely delectable. The gentle lemony tang combined with the touch of sweetness that Meyer lemons behold are a joy to the palate. However I had never used them for cocktails until one of our dear LA friends, Sara, mentioned their favorite drink of the summer was the Meyer Lemon Margarita. They had picked their tree bare concocting these enticing cocktails.
Intrigued and always on the hunt for another delicious cocktail, especially one which pulls from our garden, we sliced & iced a Meyer lemon with shot of tequila and hit of triple. At first sip our eyes widened. I immediately head back into the garden to snag a few more Meyer lemons and soon we began to wrap ourselves up in the warm tingle of tequila softened, sweetened and balanced by the golden elixir of the Meyer lemon. And after changing from triple sec to simple syrup and orange bitters (although you could always use a good orange liqueur), we had a cocktail which will always be in our house go-to list.
The Meyer Lemon pairs exceptionally well with tequila and we would be hard pressed to say if we like a classic Margarita or these Meyer Lemon Margaritas better. They each have their own delicious draw, this one slightly sweeter and more floral, the classic slightly brighter. Time to do a taste off with the garden fruit to see who’s flavor reigns supreme.
-Todd
Meyer Lemon Margarita
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) fresh Meyer Lemon Juice
- 1/2 ounce (15 ml) fresh Lime Juice (optional - for brighter tasting cocktail)
- 2 ounces (60 ml) Tequila
- 3/4 ounce (22 ml) Simple Syrup , or to taste
- couple dashes Orange Bitters
- Flaky Salt (optional) for rimming glass
Instructions
- Rub the rim of an old fashioned glass (or whatever similar vessel you prefer) with a meyer lemon slice. Swirl the rim through a small pile of kosher or sea salt to salt the rim.
- Put the meyer lemon juice, (optional lime juice), tequila, simple syrup, and bitters in an ice filled cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds.
- Put a few cubes of ice in your prepared glass. Strain the cocktail into the glass and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition Information per Serving
Cocktails & Beyond – Here’s some of our favorite finds:
We tend to be a bit obsessive over our cocktail tools. Here’s some of our favorites we’ve collected and put to use over the years:
OXO Citrus Squeezer – What is the difference between an ok cocktail & a great one? Most of the time, fresh citrus juice. If you don’t have one, get yourself a squeezer.
Japanese Style Ice Pick – My favorite cocktail tool. With swag and great function, it’s perfect for cocktail geeks like us.
Cocktail Kingdom Leopold Jigger – We have a dozen jiggers, but this one is my favorite. Love the copper-plating, quickly gives a lived in patina. Love the lines on the inside marking off different measurements.Check out our Cocktail Recipes Here and our Complete Whiskey Guide.
- stovetop cheesy corn dip
- grilled green tomatoes recipe
- arugula watermelon salad
- homemade bread and butter sweet pickles
- More lemon cocktail recipes.
I am most impressed there is no sugar or simple syrup in this recipe. Thank you! Why cant we just enjoy booze and fruit as it was meant to be? Now I just wish staring at my meyer lemon tree we planted this weekend would somehow make it produce in time for patio happy hour next week.
I have a love affair with Meyer lemons. I don’t find them often, but when I do, I scoop up as many as I can and prepare for all the fantastic culinary delights to come. There is nothing prettier than a lemon, I think, and nothing more delicious than a Meyer lemon! This was the perfect, PERFECT summery drink, and the perfect post-work cocktail. Thanks so much for sharing! My margaritas will never be the same! I think my Meyers were a bit more tart than usual, so I added just a bit of agave to sweeten it up. It was utterly delicious!
I made this margarita recipe using one addition: a splash of Rose’s Lime. Luscious.
I squeezed the Meyers and froze the juice to use at will. Thanks!
After a hellish day at work, I was looking at a bottle of patron, a bottle of triple sec and no limes, wondering if I could possibly substitute a few of the meyer lemons from our tree outside. Question answered. Lemons juiced. Can’t wait to put my feet up out back and enjoy!
Drinking this one down now. I had peeled 20 meyer lemons fresh off a neighbor’s tree, carefully scraped the pith from the peel, and plunged the zesty golden goodness into a mason jar of vodka — I’ll let the skins steep for a month or two, and it will be my summertime limoncello. In the meantime, I have a pile of meyer lemons with no skin — better use them fast. I knew there was some meyer lemon cocktail recipe on here, and no surprise, it is terrific. I included a key lime, which my neighbor also supplied. A great use for my pile of naked meyer lemons. Thanks, T&D.
TraderJoe’s has them right now so it must be time for a great cocktail. All the ideas below sound great
This looks so delicious because I love meyer lemons or any lemons or anything citrus really. Did I mention I love salt too?
Okay, Todd, in spite of the NYC blizzard, I couldn’t wait any longer.
Perhaps I am a contrarian. Perhaps I have no patience. Everyone else might be drinking a hot toddy or single malt Scotch. But me –
I’m drinking a WOR Meyer Lemon Margarita!
A toast to you and Diane from Walter and me. We think we will be having many happy returns to this drink. Ole.
I really like the story – thank you that you shared your childhood memories…
Unfortunately outside of the US [in my case the Middle East] there is no way to get Meyer Lemons – thought once, that I found some, as the fruit in the supermarket was rounder as normal lemons and was called sweet lemon.
It was less sour than normal lemons but also almost tasteless… definitely not a Meyer lemon.
I would rather recommend not only using Cointreau as top shelf choice.
A good bitter orange liqueur decides beside of the spirit, if a cocktail becomes great or mediocre,,, It actually doesn’t have to be Cointreau – my favorite is Patron Citronge, which is slightly less pronounced but also fruitier.
I don’t consider Bols or DeKuyper [or even Giffard, Monin, Roses or Marie Brizard] as proper liqueurs and your drink, will suffer….
The lemon story was wonderful. Smells can telescope memories to the present in such clarity. As always, the pictures are superb in that I-want-to-reach-out-and-have-a-sip way you have!
We have a pretty productive dwarf Meyer lemon tree, and I’m always looking for ideas on how to use up the fruit — thanks for this suggestion — a margarita sounds right up my alley!
Oh my goodness…this looks delicious! I love margaritas and we don’t really make them here in Tokyo because Tequila is so expensive. I actually have not really been exposed to Meyer lemons yet, but I certainly hope to enjoy them someday soon. Gorgeous post!!
Wow – gorgeous shots and a wonderful use for meyer lemons. Hard to get hold of in the UK but definitely worth seeking out
A thoroughly enjoyable story to go with this recipe. Personally, I have never been able to actually smell the smell of stink bugs. My nose was never able to detect it.
Some people have all the luck!
A very refreshing & tasty frink!! Yum!
This post makes me want to plant a Meyer lemon tree. I am not sure how one would fare here in central Texas, but it may be the only way I can get my hands on a Meyer lemon. Your site is beautiful. I found it through Smitten Kitchen and David Lebovitz.
Check with your local nurseries. I depends on how cold you get, but they do very well in pots, so one option is to shelter the tree during the cold months, then bring it back out when you no longer have to worry about freezing.