Everyone loves a margarita, but they are generally sugary. This was not always the case – the original margarita was made with tequila, lime juice, and Triple Sec, with the only sugar coming from the orange liqueur. But the frozen margaritas at your favorite Mexican restaurant, or that bottle of margarita mix from the liquor store? Chock-full of sugar. You can get sugar-free margarita mix – Baja Bob’s is popular – but I find them too sweet for my taste. It’s a function of having given up sugar so long ago – most commercially sweetened stuff is cloying to me. I prefer what I call a Margarita Fizz, which is assembled thusly:
Do yourself a favor and skip the Cuervo. As a die-hard tequila girl, I find it awfully harsh. In the same price range, I much prefer Sauza Gold or Cazadores Reposado, both far smoother than Cuervo, even sippable straight up. For a milder tequila flavor, go with a silver tequila, but I prefer the “gold” reposados.
As for the definition of a “shot”: I inherited my parents’ 1960s vintage jigger. It holds two fluid ounces, aka ¼ cup, and has a line halfway up to measure a 1-ounce shot. I fill it all the way with tequila and half- to three-quarters with lime juice.
I confess to using Nellie and Joe’s brand bottled lime juice but feel free to use fresh limes if you like. I sometimes add a wedge along with the bottled stuff.
