Mezcal Margarita Recipe
A Margarita with mezcal in place of tequila: smoky and sharp with lime, sweetened with agave syrup and a measure of orange liqueur.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 20%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Mezcal60 ml (2 oz)
- Fresh lime juice30 ml (1 oz)
- Agave syrup15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Cointreau15 ml (0.5 oz)
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
- Shake until well chilled.
- Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass.
- Serve without a garnish.
Garnish
None
What it tastes like
The citrus acidity leads, it smells of lemon and lime peel, smoke dominates the nose and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Mezcal
- The Mexican spirit whose smoke comes from roasting the agave in a stone pit. It can stand in for tequila, but the smoke walks over everything else; starting half and half is the balanced move.
- Fresh lime juice
- Freshly squeezed lime. Bottled lime tastes cooked and flat; one lime gives about 30 ml. If you have none, half lemon and half grapefruit juice comes closest.
- Agave syrup
- Agave syrup. About a third sweeter than simple syrup, so use three quarters of the amount rather than a straight swap. It comes from the same plant as tequila and mezcal, which is why it sits so naturally with them.
- Cointreau
- The French orange liqueur, 40% alcohol. It is the dry, strong end of triple sec; swap in a cheap triple sec and the drink gets sweeter and loses its backbone.
The Story
This spec follows the house version poured at the New York bar Employees Only; mezcal Margaritas spread through bars as the spirit caught on outside Mexico.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Mezcal Margarita mixed?
- It is shaken and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Mezcal Margarita?
- Roughly 20% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Mezcal Margarita be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Mezcal Margarita hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.