Has it already been a full year since National Margarita Day? Feels like only yesterday we were celebrating cocktail Christmas with a collection of our favorite signature resort recipes, but here we are, chalices once again ready to be filled to the brim. Only there’s no point in rolling out the same drinks all over again, even if they’re absolutely delicious and surprisingly easy to make.
Instead, when it came time to compile this year’s guide to making this the best National Marg Day yet, we asked, nay demanded, that mixologists have a lot of fun with this one. “Give us your most creative and weirdest margaritas yet,” we implored them. And they delivered. Oh boy, did they ever deliver.
Have fun trying to recreate some of these margaritas, and then be sure to thank the bartenders the next time you visit these awesome hotels and resorts, too.
Homegrown Margarita
The Place: Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa, Grand Cayman
“It doesn’t get much more local than this! This cocktail is made using lemongrass grown right here in our backyard: just outside Coccoloba, in fact. The lemongrass is complemented by a hint of pamplemousse (grapefruit) liqueur and fresh-pressed cucumber, with the flavorful citrus, spice and rich agave notes of Herradura 100% agave blanco tequila as the base. This clean, delicate set of flavors is brought to life with a great aromatic profile, whilst retaining the true essence of the Margarita.” – Jim Wrigley, Beverage Manager
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Herradura Silver Tequila
- 0.75 oz lemongrass syrup (pro tip: make your own lemongrass syrup by resting 2 chopped stalks of lemongrass in 1 quart of simple syrup overnight)
- 0.25 oz grapefruit liqueur
- 0.75 oz fresh lime
- 0.5 oz cucumber juice
- Garnish: Salt rim, Cucumber slice
How to Make It:
Fill shaker with ice and all ingredients. Shake very hard and strain over cubed ice into a chilled short glass. Salted rim and garnish with a cucumber slice.
Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita
The Place: Quivira Los Cabos
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz blanco (white) tequila
- 1 oz agave honey
- 0.25 g cucumber
- 0.25 g basil
- 1 oz lemon juice
- 0.5 oz pineapple juice
- 0.10 g jalapeño
- 0.02 g tajin
- Ice
How to Make It:
Prepare your glass: Cut a slice of lemon, run the wedge on one side of the rim of the glass. Put tajin on a plate and pass the glass over it.
With a peeler, make thin slices of the cucumber and intertwine them to form small mosaics to decorate the inside of the glass. Leave an extra slice for the garnish.
Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker (although any container that you can close and shake will work). Add the basil leaves, the seedless cucumber pieces, lemon and pineapple juice, agave syrup and a small piece of jalapeño pepper to the shaker. Macerate for 30 seconds.
Pour the blanco tequila and ice into the shaker and shake it for 10 seconds. If you have a cocktail shaker, shake it until icy cold on the outside. Place a few ice cubes in the serving glass; strain the margarita over the ice. To finish, use the cucumber slice that was separated. Insert a toothpick into it for a nice garnish.
Prosecco Margarita
The Place: JW Marriott Cancun Resort and Spa
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Casa Dragones Blanco (recommended)
- 2.5 oz Prosecco
- 1 oz Grand Marnier
- 0.5 oz lemon juice
- 0.5 oz simple syrup
How to Make It:
Pour all ingredients in a shaker, except chilled Prosecco. Add ice and shake. Pour ingredients into a glass. Top with Prosecco. Garnish with lime slice.
Rosarita Margarita
The Place: Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel, Miami Beach
“Experiencing paradise in a margarita from your eyes to your very first sip of endless delight and sheer perfection.” – Mariana Pena, Restaurants & Bars Marketing and Programming Manager
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Patron Reposado
- 0.5 oz tropical hibiscus
- 0.5 oz Cointreau
- 0.5 oz rosemary infused simple syrup
- 0.5 oz lime juice
How to Make it:
Combine ingredients into shaker tin. Shake and pour over ice. Red Jell-O rim. Garnish with a hibiscus leaf.
Farmers Margarita
The Place: JW Marriott Tampa Water Street, Tampa
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Casamigos Blanco
- 1 oz carrot juice
- 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1 oz agave syrup
- 3 slices of jalapeños
How to Make It:
Combine ingredients into small shaker tin. Add ice and shake 20 times. Double strained into Tajin rimmed rocks over fresh ice. Garnish with baby carrot.
Spicy Margarita
The Place: The Ritz-Carlton, St Thomas, USVI
Ingredients:
- 2 oz jalapeño-infused silver tequila
- 1 oz simple syrup
- 1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1 oz Cointreau
- Grand Mariner (optional)
How to Make It:
Add tequila, simple syrup, lime juice, and Cointreau to a shaker with ice and shake until combined. Pour into a salted rimmed glass. For added flare, float Grand Marnier on top.
The Sandspur
The Place: The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Lunazul Blanco Tequila
- 1 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
- 1 oz Fresh lime juice
- 1 oz simple syrup
- 1 grapefruit juice
How to Make It:
Combine ingredients into shaker tin. Shake and pour over ice. Hibiscus-Salt rim.
Baja Margarita
The Place: Vista Encantada Spa Resort and Residences, Cabo San Lucas
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Don Julio Blanco Tequila
- 1 oz Damiana liqueur
- 0.25 oz orange juice
- 0.25 oz lime juice
- 0.25 oz agave syrup
How to Make It:
Add all ingredients to a shaker and shake lightly. Serve in an Old Fashioned glass lined with a salt rim. Garnish with seasonal herbs.
South Margarita
The Place: Bar Pierre at Pierre Mundo Imperial, Acapulco
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz of tequila reposado
- 0.5 oz of tequila liqueur
- 1.5 oz mixture of lemon and lime juice
- 1.5 oz simple syrup
- Splash of whiskey
- Twists of orange peel, and lime and lemon peelings
- Grasshopper salt and 2 margarita flowers for garnish
How to Make It:
Start by decorating your martini glass with a rim of grasshopper salt. Mix the tequila reposado, tequila liqueur, lemon and lime juice, simple syrup and twists from orange, lemon and lime in a chilled shaker. Shake the mix prominently, pour the whiskey into your glass, and then pour the contents of the shaker using the strainer. Garnish with two margarita flowers and enjoy!
Lemon Mezcal Margarita
The Place: Wild Dunes Resort, Isle of Palms, SC
Ingredients:
- 1.75 oz mezcal
- 0.5 oz St Germaine Elderflower Liquor
- 2 oz lemonade
- 0.5 oz lemon and lime juice
- Smoked hickory salt rim
- Lemon wheel for garnish
How to Make It:
Combine ingredients, shake vigorously and strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a hickory salt rim and lemon wheel.
The Likeani
The Place: Wai’olu Ocean Cuisine, Honolulu, HI
Ingredients:
- 1 oz blanco tequila
- 0.25 oz Peach Sec
- 1 oz guava puree
- 2 limes (muddled)
- Alaea Sea Salt
- 1.5 oz Rosé Sparkling Wine
How to Make It:
Shake and strain into salt-rimmed Champagne Flute and top off with Rosé Sparkling Wine.
The Sunset Margarita
The Place: Ocean Key Resort and Spa, Key West
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Don Julio Blanco Tequila
- 1 oz agave nectar
- Splash fresh squeezed lime
- Splash blood orange juice with pulp
- Blood orange slice for garnish
How to Make It:
Combine all drink ingredients into a shaker over ice. Shake. Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with a blood orange slice.
Spicy Pineapple Margarita
The Place: The Reach, Key West
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Tanteo chipotle tequila
- Pineapple
- Jalapeño
- 1 oz lime juice
- o.5oz agave syrup
How to Make It:
Muddle jalapeños and pineapple with a splash of agave, add tequila, lime juice and more agave. Shake.
Watermelon Margarita
The Place: The Landings Resort and Spa, St. Lucia
Ingredients:
- 2 oz fresh watermelon juice
- 1 oz Cointreau
- 1.5 oz lime juice
- 2 pieces of jalapeño
- 1 wedge of fresh lime (squeezed in shaker)
How to Make It:
Shaken and poured over ice in a rocks glass with salt on the rim. Garnished with a slice of lime and slice of jalapeño.
Carnaval
The Place: Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz silver tequila
- 1 oz orange liqueur
- 1 oz lime juice
- 0.5 oz agave
- 2 slices jalapeño
- 4 chunks of watermelon
- Tajin seasoning for garnish
- Watermelon triangle slice for garnish
How to Make It:
In a Boston Shaker, muddle slices of jalapeño and watermelon chunks. Add all remaining ingredients with ice and shake. Rim rocks glass with Tajin seasoning. Strain concoction into rimmed rocks glass. Add fresh ice. Garnish with watermelon triangle slice.
Margarita al Pastor
The Place: Hilton Cancun, an All-Inclusive Resort
Ingredients:
- 1 oz white tequila
- 0.5 oz Controy (or Cointreau, but the former for authenticity)
- 0.5 oz Ancho Reyes Liquor
- 0.5 oz lemon juice
- 15 coriander leaves
- Half piece chile guajillo (dried chiles)
- 0.10 g tajin
- 0.5 oz natural syrup
- 0.10 g pineapple
- Worm salt and chapulín (grasshopper)
Instructions:
Fill an Old Fashioned glass with ice till the top. Pour 1oz of white tequila, 0.5 oz of Controy Liquor, and 0.5 oz of Ancho Reyes Liquor. Stir everything for a few seconds. Then add 0.5 oz of lemon juice, 15 leaves of crushed coriander, and add half a piece of Chile guajillo also crushed and stir again.
Add 10 grams of Tajin, 0.5 oz of natural syrup. Add worm salt and chapulín (grasshopper). Stir everything for the last time and add pineapple for decoration.
Bazooka Rita
The Place: Hilton Austin
Ingredients:
- 1.75 oz Corralejo Reposado
- 0.5 oz agave nectar
- 1 oz lime
- 0.25 oz Cointreau
- 1 oz smoked pineapple cordial
- 0.5 oz tamarind syrup
- Pineapple wedge, smoked chili lime salt rim, and a bouquet of fresh mint for garnish
How to Make It:
Prepare a Collins glass with rimmed smoked chili lime salt. Combine Corralejo Repadado, agave nectar, lime, Cointreau, smoked pineapple cordial, and tamarind syrup into a mixing glass filled with ice. Shake contents in mixing glass, strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice. Garnish with pineapple wedge and fresh mint.
Ginger Margarita
The Place: Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Casamigos Reposado Tequila
- 1. oz Cointreau
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz ginger syrup
How to Make It:
Mix all ingredients in a tall shaker with ice. Shake for 30 seconds to chill. Prepare a rim rocks glass with salt. Pour all ingredients over ice, garnish with lime and enjoy.
Blackberry Margarita
The Place: Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz tequila (reposado preferred)
- 1 oz Cointreau
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz simple syrup
- Fresh blackberries (a handful)
How to Make It:
Add fresh blackberries to a mixing glass and muddle. Mix all ingredients in a tall shaker with ice. Shake to chill. Prepare a rim rocks glass with salt. Pour all ingredients over ice, garnish with lime and enjoy! Bonus points if you get creative with the lime garnish.
Spa Day Margarita
The Place: Fairmont Grand Del Mar
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Volcan de Mi Tierra ‘Blanco Smoke’ Tequila
- 0.25 oz Chareau Aloe Liqueur
- 1 oz lime juice
- 0.75 oz lemongrass simple syrup
- 2 slices muddled cucumber
How to Make It:
Salt the rim of a tumbler glass and line glass with cucumber slices. Add ingredients over ice. Use mint for garnish.
RC-Biscus Rita
The Place: The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua
Ingredients:
- 2 oz RCK Patron Barrel Select Patron Anejo
- 0.5 oz peach liqueur
- 1.5 oz hibiscus mixer (recipe below)
- 0.5 oz lime juice
How to Make Hibiscus Mixer:
- 37 oz hibiscus syrup
- 24 oz lemon juice
- 4 oz raspberry puree
Add all ingredients to a Cambro and mix thoroughly.
How to Make the Cocktail:
Add all ingredients to shaker, shake and dump. Garnish with a lime Wheel and hibiscus flower.
