What tequila makes the best margarita? Experts offer tips, recipes (2024)

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Get your best tequila ready. Feb. 22 is National Margarita Day. If you want the best margaritas stock up on fresh limes and agave syrup. A touch of orange liqueur or juice is optional. If you’re adventurous, fruit purees are also optional.

Forget those premade mixes with their gooey sweetness, unnatural acidity and glow-in-the-dark fluorescent color. They’re simply a way to ruin a good tequila.

The best margaritas come freshly squeezed juices, agave syrup and your favorite tequila.

While all tequilas are made in just four Mexican states from Blue Weber agave, they differ from brand to brand. And they certainly differ by style. The three main styles are blanco, reposado or anejo. Different bartenders choose different styles for their margaritas.

Lisa Redmond, owner of Nuevo Modern Mexican & Tequila Bar in downtown Cleveland, is insistent on good ingredients and the right tequila.

“Two things make a good margarita,” she says. “First, fresh, hand-squeezed citrus, not out of the (dispensing) gun. And the right tequila with the right orange liqueur in the right amounts. If it’s too strong it won’t be great, and people won’t have another one.”

“Juice has to be fresh and reposado is the best type of tequila to have,” she says.

The brand of the reposado tequila depends on the recipe. The bar manager at Nuevo has paired different tequila brands with different ingredients. Hornitos tequila goes into the blood orange and the rhubarb margaritas, while Espolon is chosen for the Italian cherry and coconut chai margaritas.

Bobby Dagostino also chooses reposado for margaritas. Dagostino has been a bartender for 40 years and is currently at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

“The reposado gives it a little extra kick,” he says.

Which brand of tequila is the best?

When it comes to brands? “You can make a margarita out of any tequila. Espolon reposado for the flavor and the price is the best. But there are so many different ones, each adds a different flavor.”

That tequilas should touch nothing but fresh lime juice, agave syrup and a good triple sec or Cointreau or maybe a Grand Marnier floater.

Dagostino goes beyond the traditional salt rim with a homemade blend of spices including sage, red pepper, black pepper, salt and other herbs. Other options include Tajin, a common blend of spice. A variety of flavored salts — from lime to tamarind — can be found on Amazon and in select liquor stores.

Blanco has its place in margaritas, according to Kevin Thomas owner/distiller at Western Reserve Distillers in Lakewood, Ohio. Western Reserve Distillers makes all three styles of organic agave spirit. While they use Blue Weber Agave and a recipe in the same tradition as Mexican distillers, they can’t call the spirit “tequila” because it’s made in Lakewood.

“Blanco is a little brighter and goes better with the fresh lime and everything else. It really is the best to use in a margarita. Reposado are better in paloma and more sophisticated co*cktails,” he says.

Thomas prefers a Tommy’s margarita which excludes orange. It’s simple lime juice, agave simple syrup and tequila. But, when his distillery teaches regular margarita classes, they offer four or five versions to educate customers.

Dustin Knell, beverage manager of Columbus-based Condado Tacos agrees with everyone above.

“Tequila is not a one-size-fits-all scenario. In the summertime if you want a few margaritas and you want them lighter go for a blanco tequila. It pairs best with Cointreau,” he says. “When it’s a little colder, you want something richer, robust. A reposado would make a great margarita. It’s a little heartier. Maybe pair it with Grand Marnier for a richer, more robust flavor.”

Whatever the tequila of choice, margaritas still top the co*cktail list, according to recent a report by market research firm NielsenIQ. In fact, the classic tequila-based co*cktail was the best-selling co*cktail and ready-to-drink co*cktail in 2023.

Below you’ll find margarita recipes from Western Reserve Distillers and national tequila brands as well as one non-alcohol mockgarita recipe.

Cucumber & Jalapeño Margarita

Rim your chosen margarita glass. Muddle cucumber slices with a pinch of salt. Add other ingredients to a co*cktail shaker with ice. Shake. Pour into glass over ice.

Grapefruit Margarita

Rim your chosen margarita glass. Add all ingredients to a co*cktail shaker with ice. Shake. Pour into glass, over ice.

*Make agave simple syrup mixing ¼ cup agave nectar with ¼ cup hot water. Stir or shake until mixed. Cool to room temperature or refrigerate.

Cantera Negra Winter Margarita

Winter spice mix for rim: .5 tsp salt, .5 tsp sugar, .25 tsp cinnamon, and .25 tsp chili powder

Add all ingredients in a co*cktail shaker with ice. Shake. Rim a rocks glass with winter spice mix. Strain into prepped rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Tommy’s Margarita

Add all ingredients to co*cktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain over ice in a half salt rimmed rocks glass. Optional: Garnish with blood orange slice.

Mulberry Street Margarita

Add ingredients into a co*cktail shaker. Shake well. Strain into rock glass. Fill with ice.

Ghost Tequila Spicy Mango Margarita

Rim glass with Tajin salt. Add all ingredients to an ice-filled co*cktail shaker. Shake. Strain into ice-filled glass.. Top with soda. Garnish with lime wedge.

The Noble-Rita

Rim glass with salt. Place ingredients except the lime wedge and salt into a shaker with ice.

Shake until chilled. Pour over ice and garnish with lime.

Mi Campo Margarita

Rim glass with salt. Place ingredients except the lime wedge and salt into a shaker with ice.

Shake until chilled. Pour over ice and garnish with lime.

Pineapple Jalapeno Mockgarita

Optional: For co*cktail, add tequila to taste.

Rim glass with Tajín. Add jalapeño slice, pineapple chunks, two sugar cubes, and a dash of Tajín to the bottom of glass. Muddle until fragrant. In a shaker filled with ice, shake juices. Pour over muddled pineapple, jalapeño and sugar. Fill cup with ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and jalapeño slice.

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