National Margarita Day is Feb. 22 — so what better way to celebrate than with a salt, lime and tequila?
Instead of celebrating the occasion with the same old tequila-and-triple-sec combo you’ve likely been slurping down for years, elevate the experience with one of the recipes below.
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Spice is nice, but sometimes it might be a little much, especially if indulging with a plate of chips and spicy salsa.
Sweeten the pitcher with watermelon juice and taste summer no matter what time of year it is.
Ingredients:
Add all ingredients to a shaker. Shake and strain over ice into a rocks glass with a spice-salted rim. Use chili salt, chili powder, Tajin or crushed black peppercorns on your rim or sprinkled on your cocktail for an extra kick.
If you're looking for more of a winter-time margarita, use blood orange juice for your citrus.
The deep reds and oranges of the fruit pair well aesthetically with a black salt rim.
Ingredients:
Add all ingredients (aside from salt) to a shaker.
Shake, then strain over ice into a rocks glass. Salt the rim first to avoid a spill.
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Ed McFarland, the chef and owner of Ed’s Lobster Bar, hatched up this visually (and palatably) bright tequila-focused cocktail.
Ingredients:
Pour all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Strain into a glass with crushed ice. Makes one cocktail.
For the blueberry juice: Mix 1 pint of blueberries, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of water in a saucepot. Heat on high to soften the berries. Once cooled, pass the berries through a strainer and chill.
This sweet and spicy concoction combines fan-favorite Arizona mango tea with hot sauce for an extra kick.
You can create this margarita in a pitcher blended overtop ice or on the rocks with a salted rim.
Ingredients:
Combine ingredients in a blender. Blend until ice is smooth.
Serve up with lime wedge.
Do National Margarita Day in style with mild pear and earthy rosemary aromas. Add a pear twist to the margarita to create an Instagram-worthy cocktail.
Ingredients:
Add tequila, Poire Williams and lime juice to a shaker with a few sprigs of rosemary. Shake with ice and fine strain. Pour into a coupe cocktail glass, garnished with a rosemary sprig and or pear twist.
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If you like pina coladas this coconut-heavy margarita might be the one for you. Getting caught in the rain is purely optional, though.
Ingredients:
Combine coconut cream and coconut milk in a shaker and shake thoroughly; pour remaining ingredients in and shake. Strain into glass and garnish with salt, if desired.
Get ready for a tropical vacation with this spring break margarita. This drink was the 2011 winner of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville National Margarita Day recipe so it has to be good.
Ingredients:
Place all ingredients into a blender cup, add ice and blend together until the consistency is smooth. Garnish this margarita with a pineapple wedge.
Cranberry cocktails aren't just for the Christmas season. Try this recipe from the Muy Bueno cookbook blog anytime of year.
Ingredients:
For cranberry purée:
For drink:
The first step in making this drink is making your cranberry purée.
For the recipe, grab a saucepan and melt sugar in the orange juice over medium heat. Add in cranberries and cook all of it together over low heat for about 10 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool.
In a shaker, add crushed ice, tequila, Grand Marnier and two ounces of the cranberry purée. Shake everything together. Lastly, pour the drink into a sugar rimmed glass.
No matter which of these margaritas you choose to indulge in, they are sure to put a twist on a classic cocktail.
Alexandra Deabler contributed reporting.
