Tommy's Margarita Cocktail Recipe
A Margarita with agave syrup instead of orange liqueur — less sweet, and the tequila comes through undisguised.
- Category: New Era Drinks
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 22%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Tequila60 ml (2 oz)
- Fresh lime juice30 ml (1 oz)
- Agave syrup15 ml (0.5 oz)
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
- Shake until well chilled.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with a lime wheel.
Garnish
Lime wheel
What it tastes like
The citrus acidity leads and it smells of lemon and lime peel.
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
- 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.
The Story
Julio Bermejo's, from his family's restaurant in San Francisco in the 1990s; it changed how bars think about agave.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Tommy's Margarita mixed?
- It is shaken and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Tommy's Margarita?
- Roughly 22% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Tommy's 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 Tommy's 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.