I Drank My Way Through 6 Popular Margarita Recipes and Found “The One” I’ll Be Sipping for Life

1. The High-Brow Margarita: Pioneer Woman’s Cadillac Margarita 

Overall rating: 6.5/10
Get the recipe: Pioneer Woman’s Cadillac Margarita

The name “Cadillac margarita” comes from the recipe calling for top-shelf liquor, which makes it a step above what you might find at your local restaurant. It’s a bold, boozy margarita that’s bound to get the party started. 

Reposado tequila, which is considered the best type available, is used in this recipe, along with Cointreau or Grand Marnier, two of the best orange liqueurs. I opted for Grand Marnier when testing. The agave is optional in this recipe, so I decided to use it to see what the desired flavor was. While I appreciated the touch of sweetness, overall I found this margarita to be less balanced than some of the other recipes. I would have actually liked a bit more agave to balance the acidity. I know margaritas are generally boozy, but this felt heavy-handed in a way that was too intense for me. If you’re looking for a margarita that packs a punch, this one’s for you.

2. The Margarita with a Kick: Smitten Kitchen’s Perfect Margarita

Overall rating: 7/10
Get the recipe: Smitten Kitchen’s Perfect Margarita

I can always rely on Smitten Kitchen to deliver delicious recipes. While this is a solid margarita, it definitely falls on the maker to have some knowledge about their personal booze preferences to really get it right. If you’ve got a well-stocked bar cart and have room to play around, this is a great recipe to experiment with. 

The formula Deb follows is 3:2:2, which makes this recipe easy to follow for a single drink or a crowd. The recipe doesn’t specify which type of tequila to use, so I opted for blanco tequila, which is the purest form of tequila and offers a clean taste. I also used Cointreau, which is my personal favorite orange liqueur. There’s an option to either add the lime juice, tequila, and orange liqueur directly to the glass over ice or to place it in a shaker to chill it before straining. I tried both ways and ultimately preferred the chilled version. 

While this makes a totally decent margarita, similar to the Cadillac margarita I found it a bit too boozy without enough sweetness to balance the flavor. I did love the addition of Tajín, a Mexican seasoning, around the rim along with the salt, which added some spiciness to each sip. I’ll be using that trick to upgrade my margaritas moving forward.

3. The Lighter Margarita: Cookie + Kate’s Skinny Margaritas 

Overall rating: 8/10
Get the recipe: Cookie + Kate’s Skinny Margaritas

Can a recipe be considered a real margarita if it eschews one of the main ingredients? While not traditional, I’m going to say yes. Most margaritas include a combination of tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice. In order to keep this recipe lighter on the booze and merit the name “skinny margarita” (first coined by The Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel), fresh orange juice is used in place of orange liqueur. There’s also a touch of agave, which I thought added a nice contrast to the orange and lime juice. 

This margarita tasted like a spiked fruit juice, which I wasn’t mad about. It was truly a pleasure to drink and I appreciated that it wasn’t as boozy. That said, if you’re serving traditionalists who want an everyday margarita, I would recommend choosing a more classic recipe.

4. The Surprising Margarita: Tyler Florence’s Margaritas 

Overall rating: 8.5/10
Get the recipe: Tyler Florence’s Margaritas 

Two things caught my eye with this recipe. While most margarita recipes call for just orange liqueur, this version uses both Grand Marnier and Triple Sec for a double dose of orange flavor. While I was unsure if it was really necessary, I loved how the flavors balanced each other — the Grand Marnier offered more complex, deep notes, and the Triple Sec added a light and bright orange flavor. For sweetness, granulated sugar is added to the shaker. It’s important to give it a hard shake to ensure the sugar granules dissolve before you strain the margarita. I loved the ease of adding granulated sugar straight to the shaker rather than having to make simple syrup. I’d happily drink this margarita again!

5. The Crowd-Pleasing Margarita: Ina Garten’s Real Margaritas 

Overall rating: 9.5/10
Get the recipe: Ina Garten’s Real Margaritas

I’ve always had success with Ina Garten’s recipes, and this delicious margarita was no different. While lime juice makes up the majority of the citrus here, Ina also adds in the juice of 1 lemon, which adds a subtle hint of tanginess. She opts for white tequila, which has a sweeter, fruitier flavor, and Triple Sec. There are no added sweeteners here, but I didn’t think it needed any. The margarita tasted well-balanced and refreshing. The only reason this didn’t take the top spot is because the winner felt a bit more special, while this was more classic. That said, I genuinely loved this margarita.

If you’re hosting a party, there are a few reasons why this is the margarita to make. First, the recipe already serves six, whereas the other recipes serve one to two. I love any recipe that helps cut down on prep time for a party, and this one is exceptionally easy to batch. While the addition of lemon juice does add a bit more work, I didn’t mind, as this recipe was designed to serve a crowd. This recipe also tastes exactly like what you’d expect when you order a margarita at a restaurant or bar, which makes it a total crowd-pleaser.

6. The Margarita I’ll Be Sipping All Summer: Mexico in My Kitchen’s Mexican Margarita 

Overall rating: 10/10
Get the recipe: Mexico in My Kitchen’s Mexican Margarita

I’ve never made anything from Mexico in My Kitchen before — but out of all the recipes, I had a sneaking suspicion that Mely Martinez would deliver something excellent. Mely was born and raised in Mexico and moved to the States 10 years ago, which gives her the highest credentials to claim what a real Mexican margarita should taste like. 

This recipe makes a truly phenomenal margarita. After tasting all the margaritas, I kept going back for a sip — and then another, and another. The margarita perfectly balances the sweet-meets-tart flavor of a margarita, with no one note overpowering another. I also loved that it felt classic, which is most often what I want in a margarita. This was the recipe that my friend group insisted I share immediately — that’s how much we loved it. 

Here’s why I think this recipe stands out above the rest. First, Mely calls for Noble Reposado, which seems to be unanimously agreed upon as the most balanced, drinkable tequila. The recipe also calls for homemade simple syrup, which adds a touch of sweetness that balances the tequila and Triple Sec. Since testing these recipes, I’ve already gone back to make this one three times — it’s a keeper.

Here’s why I think this recipe stands out above the rest. First, Mely calls for Noble Reposado, which seems to be unanimously agreed upon as the most balanced, drinkable tequila. The recipe also calls for homemade simple syrup, which adds a touch of sweetness that balances the tequila and Triple Sec. Since testing these recipes, I’ve already gone back to make this one three times — it’s a keeper.