Reviewed: Nov. 21, 2009

I'd been searching for a really good margarita recipe for some time, and this one is hands down the best I've ever made! Rather than using Grand Marnier (which, at $43 a bottle at my liquor store, is too $$$ for my blood), I substituted Gran Gala, an Italian import was half the price. The important thing is finding an orange liqueur made with brandy, and this one fit the bill perfectly. Cointreau would work as well, but costs almost as much as Grand Marnier. The end result? Smooth and delicious. I'll be making these often! One other tip: do not skip salting the rim of the glasses. This is an essential step in a good margarita - the salt perfectly contrasts with the sweet-and-sour flavor of the beverage.

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wildmorel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Vancouver, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 4, 2009

These are awesome! They are VERY strong!!!

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KCKings

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Reviewed: Oct. 25, 2009

I made these on a large scale for my sister's wedding shower. They were a big hit! I can't wait for an excuse to make them again!

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wormz469

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Sep. 3, 2009

sooo sooo yummmy. i ended up getting patron orange liquer instead of grand mariner because it was way cheaper. delish. i put the mixture in a sun tea container so everyone could get their refills easily. worked out perfect! not to mention the suntea container was painted with limes. it just fit ;)

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Bethany

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Syracuse, New York, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 20, 2009

The BEST!

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DenaInChicago

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Chicago, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 12, 2009

WOAH. Exceptional! I've made it my mission this summer to make the *perfect* margarita - this is it folks. For those of you who do not like margs sweet, use limeade in place of the sweet and sour mix. I used a top shelf tequila and a cheap tequila, and the top shelf made a HUGE difference. If blood oranges are in season, I squeeze one of those in place of the limes into the batch and it takes this to the level of nirvana! (Sometimes I just go with a navel orange if they are not in season!) Take my advice and make yourself a 2 drink limit and then wait 30 minutes before considering another. My big bad husband had 2, said he didn't feel a thing, went for the 3rd, and was still in bed at noon the next day!!

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Amy37

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jul. 5, 2009

I drank two of these and almost fell on the floor! They are delicious, but potent. A very good top-shelf margarita!

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DANIELLE BEATTY

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Davenport, Iowa, USA

Living In: Ankeny, Iowa, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 18, 2009

These were DELICIOUS! A perfect Friday cocktail. :)

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Candice

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Snohomish, Washington, USA

Living In: Kirkland, Washington, USA

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Reviewed: May 8, 2009

very strong but very good. I add a little sweetend lime juice just for more lime taste.

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john

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Reviewed: May 6, 2009

Very good. Closest to restaurant margaritas I've made.

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carly333

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Reviewed: May 4, 2009

Absolutely wonderful! I didn't have any Grand Marnier the first time I made these and they tasted just fine without it. I am making them again tonight, but this time I bought some Grand Marnier. They do sneak up on you really quick, so if you're a lightweight you might want to be careful!

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Terri

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Reviewed: Jan. 9, 2009

I made about 4 gallons of these for my new years eve party. Overall the opinion was that these are some of the best margaritas ever! As the reviews have said, these are VERY strong, so sip slowly. Since I made 4 gallons at once I added some ice to the cooler which watered it down slightly, but a few people had to add additional water. This will be the only margarita recipe I use for now on, thanks!

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shellbabi

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Reviewed: Dec. 19, 2008

These are the perfect margaritas! I made the recipe as written with the exception of the grand marnia which I substituted some fresh squeezed orange juice.

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Erika

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Dec. 14, 2008

These were outstanding. I made the sour mix from scratch (with limes only, no lemons) and followed the recipe exactly, except that we did not freeze them -- left them on the rocks. Served these at my own birthday party (great way to justify $38 for Grand Marnier!) and they were a huge hit. One batch filled six of my margarita glasses.

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KRISTININSALINA

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Reviewed: Dec. 11, 2008

I've made this with and without the orange liqueur and both times I had to add a little more sweet and sour and some beer to cut it! I'm am not a big sweets fan, but this has a peculiar taste that I'm not very partial to. After trying this a 3rd time, I added 1 can of light beer to the pitcher and it was perfect! You can't detect the beer flavor, but it makes the margarita have a wonderful taste! A 3 star without the beer, but definitely a 4 or more with it! **Update: I've tried this with Baja Bob's sugar free/calorie free sweet and sour and it's great!

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Sarah

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Nov. 30, 2008

This is a keeper! Made these for a Tex-Mex dinner party - everybody loved them. I might try adding some sweetened lime juice next time to make it a bit sweeter - other than that, no changes. These are pretty stout, so I had some limeade on hand for anybody to add to their glass if they wanted it diluted.

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susanhorndfw

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Texarkana, Arkansas, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 6, 2008

These are phenomenal!! We used top shelf tequila and cointreau instead of triple sec. Everyone wants this recipe. Perfect proportions. Amazing!

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AZDarla

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Oct. 13, 2008

This recipe is perfect every time!

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Holly

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Oct. 11, 2008

Absolutely the best I've tried at home so far! Very near my favorite restaurant margaritas. I halved the alcohol after reading the reviews and doing my own calculations. I made my own sweet and sour, following instructions from an AR article: make the Simple Syrup recipe (on this site) of one cup water and one cup sugar, cool, add one cup lime juice. Didn't use Grand Marnier ($$$); maybe next time. Next time I would also like to try adding more lime juice to the simple syrup.

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Thisni Caza

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Hamilton, Kansas, USA

Living In: Topeka, Kansas, USA

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Reviewed: Sep. 7, 2008

Insanely delicious!! I didn't use the lime on the rim, nor the salt, but they were top notch - very very strong, but they should be! It was an expensive batch to make :-) but sooooo worth it!

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