What's in a Margarita? The Ingredients, the Official Ratio, and How to Order One

A margarita is three ingredients shaken with ice: tequila, fresh lime juice and an orange liqueur called triple sec. Some bars swap the liqueur for agave syrup, some add a little simple syrup, and many put salt on the rim. Everything else, from frozen to spicy to mango, is a variation on those three.

The short answer

A classic margarita has three ingredients: tequila, fresh lime juice and triple sec. The International Bartenders Association (IBA), which keeps the official recipes for the classic cocktails, lists 50 ml of 100% agave tequila, 20 ml of triple sec and 15 ml of freshly squeezed lime juice, shaken with ice and strained into a chilled cocktail glass. Salt is optional, and only on half the rim. The alcohol comes from the tequila and the liqueur; there's no vodka, beer or wine in a margarita.

The three ingredients, one by one

• Tequila. The base, and most of the drink. The official recipe asks for 100% agave tequila, made only from blue agave; a bottle labeled just "tequila" can be made with as little as 51% agave sugars. Blanco, unaged, is the usual choice because it tastes most of the agave. Our guide to the types of tequila explains the labels.
• Lime. Freshly squeezed, which is what the official recipe calls for. The lime is the sour that holds the drink together, and it's why a good margarita tastes bright instead of just sweet.
• Something sweet. Traditionally triple sec, a clear orange-flavored liqueur that started in France: orange peel steeped in a neutral spirit and distilled again, usually 20 to 40% alcohol. Cointreau is a well-known brand of it. Many bars now use agave syrup instead, and some round off the lime with a little simple syrup.

The classic ratio, in ounces

The IBA's 50, 20 and 15 ml work out to about 1.7 oz tequila, 0.7 oz triple sec and 0.5 oz lime, a ratio of 10:4:3. That makes it a tequila-forward drink: more than half of what goes into the shaker is tequila. Shake it hard with ice, strain it into a chilled glass, and salt half the rim if you like.

Salt, chile salt, or no salt

Part of the margarita's appeal is that it's salty, sweet and sour at once, and the salt comes from the rim. It's optional, even in the official recipe, which salts only half the glass. That half rim is a good idea at home: you choose with each sip. Chile salts like Tajín are common too. On our menu, the Jalapeño Margarita comes with jalapeño salt and the Spicy Mango with habanero salt.

On the rocks, straight up or frozen

• On the rocks. Shaken, then poured over ice, which keeps it cold and waters it down slowly as you drink.
• Straight up. Shaken and strained into a chilled glass, with no ice in the glass. This is how the IBA recipe serves it.
• Frozen. Blended with ice into a slush. Blenders came first; in 1971 a Dallas restaurateur adapted a secondhand soft-serve ice cream machine to pour frozen margaritas, and that original machine is now in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

Where the name comes from

Nobody knows for sure who made the first margarita. There are several competing stories from the 1930s to the 1950s, and some of them have been debunked. The name is easier: margarita is Spanish for "daisy," and cocktail historian David Wondrich links the drink to the brandy daisy, an older cocktail, remade with tequila instead of brandy. A "Tequila Daisy" turns up in a Syracuse, New York, newspaper in 1936, and the first known published margarita recipe ran in Esquire in December 1953.

The variations, decoded

• Agave margarita. Agave syrup in place of triple sec, so it's just tequila, lime and agave. Our house margarita, the Vozul Margarita, is made this way.
• Skinny margarita. There's no fixed recipe; it means a lighter, less sweet version. Ours is Vozul tequila, Combier orange liqueur, lime and a splash of grapefruit.
• Fruit margaritas. A fruit purée or juice added to the base: mango, strawberry, passion fruit. We add mango, passion fruit or strawberry to the house margarita for $3, and there's a Pomegranate Margarita.
• Mezcal margarita. Mezcal in place of tequila, so the drink tastes of smoke. Our menu calls them mezcal-ritas; mezcal vs. tequila explains where the smoke comes from.
• Spicy margarita. Chile in the spirit, in the drink or on the rim. Ours: the Habanero Margarita with habanero tequila, the Jalapeño Margarita and the Spicy Mango.
• Aged tequila. Reposado or añejo instead of blanco, for a rounder, oakier drink. El Jefe, on our menu, uses Vozul añejo.

What's in ours

Here are our margaritas exactly as they read on our menu, checked November 2026. Most are $18 a glass, and a pitcher of margaritas is $70, or $85 with mango, passion fruit or strawberry.

The classics

Fruit, smoke and chile

The rest of the bar list, including the Mezcal Smash and El Besito, is on our margarita and mezcal bar page. Can't decide? Take the margarita quiz: four questions, one margarita from our menu.

How to order the one you'll like

1. Pick the spirit. Tequila for a clean, citrusy drink; mezcal if you like smoke.
2. Pick the texture. On the rocks, or frozen if it's a slushy kind of night.
3. Pick the rim. Salt, chile salt or nothing at all.
4. Pick the size. A glass each, or a pitcher for the table.
5. Add food. Lime and salt go well with tacos. The Frozen Pineapple Mezcal Margarita is the one to order with al pastor, which comes with grilled pineapple; the rest are on our taco page.

A margarita on the roof

Cantina Rooftop is a Mexican rooftop restaurant and bar at 605 W 48th Street, between 11th and 12th Avenue in Hell's Kitchen, about a 12-minute walk from the C/E subway at 50th Street. We're open Tuesday to Sunday from 5pm with a live DJ, and closed Mondays; the last dinner reservation is 10pm Tuesday to Saturday and 9pm on Sunday. On weekends we also open for brunch, Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 4pm (last reservation 3:30pm). The glass roof retracts on warm nights and stays closed and heated when it's cold. Tables for 2 to 8 book online; walk-ins are welcome, but we recommend booking.