Texas Margarita

Add orange juice to the classic cocktail to make a Texas Margarita! This citrusy sweet spin is even better than the original.

Here’s a fun spin on the margarita that might convince you to make the cocktail this way every time: the Texas Margarita! Adding orange juice to the classic marg makes it Texas-style, for reasons that aren’t abundantly clear. But one sip and we were sold! The sweetness of the orange juice perfectly balances the tangy lime and perfumed citrus of the Triple Sec. In fact, it almost convinced us to ditch our classic margarita and make it this way every time. This one’s a winner! Here’s why.

What’s a Texas Margarita?

The Texas Margarita is a margarita made with orange juice to compliment the lime. It doesn’t have a defined history, or even an origin story. It’s possible that it came from people combining limeade, frozen orange juice and tequila as a sort of throw-together pitcher cocktail mix. How it got the name Texas Margarita isn’t widely documented: let us know if you have any clues!

The classic margarita is one of the most popular cocktails of all time, invented in the 1930’s in Mexico. The classic definition includes three ingredients: tequila, lime and Triple Sec. The Texas Margarita includes orange juice, but not so much as you would in an orange margarita. The ingredients you’ll need are:

• Tequila blanco
• Triple Sec or Cointreau
• Lime juice
• Orange juice

While this may have evolved from a low-brow, pitcher style drink, our take on the Texas Margarita is crisp, clear and sophisticated. It’s full of bright flavor and perfectly balanced between the tang of citrus and the bite of the tequila.

The best tequila and Triple Sec

What’s the best tequila and Triple Sec for a Texas Margarita? The choices here are different from our standard margarita, where we like to use tequila reposado and Cointreau. Here’s what type of tequila we recommend for the Texas Margarita:

• The best tequila? Tequila blanco. Typically we like aged tequila (tequila reposado) for the sophisticated flavor notes of oak and vanilla. But the Texas Margarita is a pretty straightforward drink, so we like blacno here. We used Patron Silver Tequila Blanco.
• The best orange liqueur? Triple Sec. Again, our standard is Cointreau, which adds warm spices and nuanced flavor. But with a Texas margarita, a more straightforward flavor like Triple Sec works! Look for a quality brand: we like Drillauds. More info is here!

Fresh squeezed orange juice vs bottled

You can use any type of orange juice in this Texas Margarita. Typically we say, Fresh is best! Fresh squeezed citrus juice always tastes better than bottled. This is especially true for lemon and lime juices: always use fresh squeezed lime juice in a margarita!

But when it comes to orange juice, you can find some decent bottled juice. Just opt for the highest quality orange juice you can find, and make sure there are no added sweeteners!

Make it as a single drink or Texas Margarita pitcher!

Texas calls for big everything, right? So why not make a Texas Margarita pitcher? The pitcher works well when you’re entertaining so you don’t have to mix up individual drinks. At 5 minutes per drink, it can take quite a while! Here’s how to make an 8-serving pitcher! Mix together:

• 1 ½ cups tequila
• 1 ½ cups Triple Sec
• 1 cup lime juice
• 1 cup orange juice

Stir it together, and you’ve got one very tasty Texas Margarita pitcher! Just try not to drink it too fast. These go down easy! You’ll notice we served it in a stemmed cocktail glass, though we typically use a low ball glass for margarita recipes. It’s a fun alternative option: you can serve it in any style of glass you like (including the standard margarita glass).

Tex Mex foods to pair

Why not pair this Texas Margarita with a Tex Mex meal? Many foods you might think are Mexican are actually Tex Mex in origin. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Texas caviar: Munch on some Texas Caviar (aka Cowboy Caviar), a tasty colorful bean dip
• Fajitas: Drink it while munching on Classic Shrimp Fajitas or Epic Vegetarian Fajitas
• Taco salad: Try it with crunchy Ultimate Taco Salad (or Vegan Taco Salad)
• Nachos: What’s more fun than Texas Margaritas and big pan of Sheet Pan Nachos?

When to serve a Texas margarita

The Texas margarita is always a hit! It works as a:

• Summer drink
• Cinco de Mayo drink
• Happy hour drink
• Dinner party drink
• Late night drinks drink
• Guys or girls night drink
• Cocktail hour drink

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