Ah, the classic Margarita. Few drinks are as satisfying on a hot day or long summer evening. The good news is, you can still have a great Marg even without the booze.
Instead of Cointreau, we make an orange simple syrup for a completely booze-free drink.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 oz / 1/4 cup non-alcoholic tequila
- 3/4 oz / 1 tbs + 1.5 tsp fresh lime juice
- 1 oz / 2 tbs orange simple syrup (see below)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a shaking tin or mason jar with ice and shake briefly to chill. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice and garnish with a lime wheel. Alternatively, serve without ice in a Margarita glass.
VARIATIONS
- Instead of orange simple syrup, use regular simple syrup plus 5 droppers of All The Bitter Orange Bitters
- Go "halfsies" with 1 oz alcoholic and 1 oz non-alcoholic tequila
- Use Cointreau or other triple sec instead of the simple syrup for a low-alcoholic version
NOTES:
To make orange simple syrup, combine 1/2 cup hot water with 1/2 cup white sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Then zest one orange into the syrup. Let cool and strain out the solids. Store in a clean container in the fridge up to 3 weeks. You can do the same with other types of citrus as well.
To do a salt rim, first pour some coarse sea salt into a saucer. Using a lime wedge, wet the rim of the glass, then dip into the salt and shake off any excess. You can also use flavored salt or add spices or dried grated lime peel to the mixture.