Margarita – Easy Recipe. I just had to drink some of it before I took a picture.

Where do I start? We first discovered the straight up Margarita at a restaurant in Los Angeles called, “El Coyote”. They mix their margaritas ahead of time in batches and then serve their recipe out of a gun either “up” (no ice), over ice or blended.The bartender told us that the secret to their margarita recipe is that they add a little bit of pineapple juice. 

Since then, my husband has perfected this very simple cocktail. When my husband was doing some real estate work down in Mexico’s, Loreto Bay on the Sea of Cortez, he had margaritas at a bar there that used the Mexican Controy Liqueur (instead of Triple Sec) and he said he could not believe how amazingly delicious the margaritas were there. He added that their drinks were really strong which of course makes any subsequent cocktail taste better than the first.  I make a slightly different version with fresh lime juice (or even lemon juice works well too) and Agave Nectar. A restaurant I worked at added a touch of Orange Juice to their margarita mix. Another popular version is the “Cadillac” margarita that uses premium Tequila and has a “float” of Grand Marnier liqueur on top. Frozen fruit can of course be added instead of ice (strawberry, mango, pineapple, kiwi etc…) for a delicious blended fruit margarita. Lastly, you can soak 6 halved chilis (like jalapeños, or serranos or even thai red chilis, whatever is easy to find) in a bottle of tequila for 30 days (or less) and use the spicy tequila to make a “Fire and Ice” margarita after the spiciness of the chilis has permeated the alcohol.

• 2-3 parts Tequila (use a shot glass to measure, or a cup if making a batch).
• 1 part orange liqueur (like any generic Triple Sec, or the Authentic Mexican Controy, the French Cointreau etc….) 
• 1 part Concentrated Limeaid (this is my husband’s very simple secret because Sweet ‘n Sour mixes are expensive, full of chemicals and way too sour for my taste).
• Or, Instead of Limeaid, I add the juice of either a half or a whole Fresh Lime (or Lemon if I don’t have any limes) with 1 Tablespoon Agave Nectar mixed in.This is how they make their margaritas at a Country Western Bar in Calabasas and they are delicious this way).
• 3 parts water or ice
• 3 parts frozen fruit (If you want to make a blended fruit version, just add frozen fruit instead of ice).
• Kosher salt for rim.

Keep Kosher Salt in plastic container. Dip rim in saucer of tequila, then container. Done!

We keep our Kosher Salt permanently in a small, round plastic container with a lid – ready for cocktail hour. Pour Triple Sec or Tequila onto a saucer. Then, dip your glass rim into the saucer to wet the rim and then dip the rim into the container of salt. 

Pour the ingredients into a glass flled with ice. Or, add all ingredients into a martini shaker filled with ice, shake and pour into your glass (this is the “up” version). For a refreshing blended version, blend in a blender. Substitute fruit for ice if you’d like. Enjoy!