Today is National Margarita Day-- one of those completely made up and unnecessary holidays that you can't help but love-- and we have the best Margarita recipes for you right here.
The good news, of course, is that you won't have to wait until "Cinco de Mayo" to drink copious amounts of margaritas. The bad news, however, is that if you were planning on giving up Tequila for lent this year you might have to delay that one until 2013. Virgin margaritas are just not that fun.
So get ready to celebrate Ash Wednesday with some of these drinks. From strawberry margarita to one with a grapefruit twist, there's an option for all. Check out these easy-to-make Margarita recipes:
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Herradura French Margarita
<strong>Photo Credit:</strong> Tequila Herradura
<strong>Ingredients:</strong>
- 1 ½ oz Herradura Blanco
- ½ oz Chambord
- ¼ oz Triple Sec
- 3 oz Sweet and Sour Mix
<strong>Garnish:</strong> Lime wedge
<strong>Preparation:</strong>
1) Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a salt-rimmed, ice-filled martini or margarita glass.
2) Garnish with a lime wedge.
Blueberry-Lime Margarita
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/27/blueberry-lime-margarita_n_1049219.html" target="_hplink">RECIPE:</a>
<strong>Ingredients</strong>
- 2 cups ice
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 cup blueberry nectar
- 1/4 cup seltzer
- 2 tablespoons frozen limeade
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 3 ounces tequila, optional
- 1 lime wedge
- Coarse salt
<strong>Preparation:</strong>
1) Combine ice, blueberries, blueberry nectar, seltzer, limeade, lime juice and tequila in a blender and blend until smooth.
2) Rub rim of 2 glasses with lime wedge and dip in salt.
3) Divide the margarita between the prepared glasses and serve.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/benjamin_king/6430524321/" target="_hplink">Flickr photo by benjaminking</a>
Herradura Honey Suckle
<strong>PHOTO CREDIT:</strong> Tequila Herradura
<strong>Ingredients:</strong>
- 2 oz Herradura Reposado
- 3\4 oz Fresh lime juice
- 3\4 oz Honey syrup
<strong>Glass: </strong>Coupe
<strong>Garnish: </strong>Lime wheel
<strong>Preparation:</strong>
1) Shake all ingredients is a cocktail shaker filled with plenty of ice.
2) Strain into a chilled coupe\cocktail glass.
3) Garnish with a lime disc.
Salty Chihuahua--Grapefruit Margarita
This grapefruit margarita cocktail was<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/27/salty-chihuahua_n_1061577.html" target="_hplink">
supposedly invented in the 1940s in Chihuahua, Mexico. </a> Hence it's name.
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/27/salty-chihuahua_n_1061577.html" target="_hplink">RECIPE:</a>
<strong>Ingredients:</strong>
- Coarse salt (optional)
- 4 ounces tequila, divided
- 2 ounces orange-flavored liqueur, such as Cointreau, divided
- 3 cups grapefruit juice, divided
- 4 grapefruit slices for garnish
<strong>Directions:</strong>
1) Wet the rims of 4 glasses and coat with coarse salt (if desired)
2) Fill the glasses with ice. Pour 1 ounce tequila and 1/2 ounce liqueur into each.
3) Top each with 3/4 cup grapefruit juice and stir.
4) Garnish with a slice of grapefruit.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/69454918@N03/6916869181/" target="_hplink">DrinkandCocktailRecipes</a>
Margarita Fruit Cocktail
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/27/margarita-fruit-cocktail_n_1054115.html" target="_hplink">RECIPE:</a>
<strong>Ingredients:</strong>
- 4 cups assorted fruit, chilled (1 cup each blueberries, cubed honeydew melon, cubed pineapple and halved strawberries)
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp tequila or water
- 1 tsp grated lime zest
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 lime wedge
<strong>Garnish:</strong> coarse decorating sugar
<strong>Preparation:</strong>
1) Mix fruit in large bowl.
2) Stir sugar and tequila with lime zest and juice in small bowl. Toss with fruit, cover and chill.
3) Rub lime wedge around rim of 4 margarita glasses; dip glasses in sugar.
4) Fill each glass with fruit cocktail.
Strawberry Margarita
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/27/strawberry-margarita_n_1061281.html" target="_hplink">RECIPE:</a>
<strong>Ingredients</strong>
- 1 part Bols Strawberry Liqueur
- 2 parts Milagro silver tequila
- 1 part fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1/4 part simple syrup or agave nectar
<strong>Directions</strong>
1) Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into an ice-filled, chilled glass.
2) Garnish with a lime wedge.
Flickr photo by<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/notahipster/" target="_hplink"> little blue hen</a>
Red Hot Margarita
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/27/red-hot-margarita_n_1061009.html" target="_hplink">RECIPE:</a>
<strong>Ingredients:</strong>
<u>For the Red Hot Infusion:</u>
- 1/2 7 ounce box Ferrara Red Hots
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, preferably Mexican
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 1 whole clove
<u>For the Limeade:</u>
- 3/4 cup (6 ounces) fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup (6 ounces) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup water
<u>To Finish and Garnish:</u>
- 1 cup (8 ounces) El Tesoro blanco tequila
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) Gran Torres orange liqueur
-ice cubes
- lime slices
<strong>Preparation:</strong>
1) <strong>To make the Red Hots infusion</strong>, in a small saucepan, combine the Red Hots, water, cinnamon, brown sugar, orange zest, and clove.
2) Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the Red Hots have dissolved.
3) Pour through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids. Cover and refrigerate until cold.
4) <strong>To make the limeade</strong>, in a medium bowl, combine the lime juice, granulated sugar, and water. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Cover and refrigerate.
5) To finish the margaritas, in a pitcher, mix together 2 cups of the Red Hot infusion, 1 1/3 cups of the limeade, the tequila, and the orange liqueur. (You can mix up a batch of the margaritas up to 2 hours in advance and refrigerate.)
6) Pour a generous 1/2 cup (4 ounces) of the mixture into a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake vigorously for about 15 seconds, and then pour through the strainer spout into your favorite margarita or martini glass. Garnish with a few lime slices.
TUACArita
<strong>Ingredients:</strong>
- 1 oz TUACA
- 1 oz Herradura® Silver Tequila
- 1/4 oz triple sec
- 3 oz sweet and sour
- Lemon wedge, squeezed
- Salt
<strong>Garnish:</strong> Lemon twist
<strong>Preparation:</strong>
1) Mix ingredients, including squeezed lemon wedge, in a shaker filled with ice.
2) Shake vigorously and strain into a salt-rimmed glass.
3) Garnish with a lemon twist.
Blue Margarita
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/27/blue-margarita_n_1061282.html" target="_hplink">RECIPE:</a>
<strong>Ingredients:</strong>
- 1 1/2 parts Milagro silver tequila
- 3/4 parts Bols Blue Curaçao
- 1 1/2 parts sour mix
<strong>Directions:</strong>
1) Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into an ice-filled, chilled glass. Garnish with an orange wedge.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/buitheson/3533019105/" target="_hplink">Flickr photo by interceptor_vn</a>
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The Huffington Post Laura Steiner First Posted: 02/22/2012 7:51 am Updated: 02/22/2012 1:30 pm