Each summer, when we go to the beach, I buy some tequila, some triple sec, and a bag of limes. I make margaritas according to something like this recipe: 3 parts tequila to 2 parts lime juice to 1 part triple sec. I chill them, salt them, drink them.
Barely drink them. Because they’re incredibly sour and fairly bitter.
Do other folks have success using these proportions? I’m pretty zealous about getting all the juice out of the limes; could that be the problem? Is there a secret to making a good classic margarita, or are my taste buds too used to the super-sweet mix you get at most restaurants to enjoy the classic style?
Because as much as I love the idea of making my own drinks from scratch, I’m getting pretty close to buying some cans of frozen limeade and doing it that way.
You might try switching from fresh lime juice to Rose’s Sweetened Lime juice. I would give you some other recipes, but I think just making this change will take care of the problem. If that doesn’t work, back off on the tequila. Your recipe but with 2 oz of tequila instead of 3 is the same as Sammy Hagar’s Waborita which I’ve always liked (but I’d swear it used to call for Rose’s).
You might want to add a part or so of simple syrup to them. Personally, I hate the typical sweet margarita and prefer the 3:2:1 or 2:2:1 or 1:1:1 (tequila, triple sec, lime) margarita, but if you like them with a little bit of sugar to take the edge off, add at least one part of simple syrup to them.
It sounds like you prefer a slightly sweeter drink. I was going to suggest adding a little simple syrup to your recipe, but the Rose’s idea is good too.
This could be it as well. A ‘real’ margarita is pretty strong tasting compared to one you’d get at a place like Friday’s or Applebee’s. They do what they can to hide the taste of the tequila so you keep ordering.
Pour the ingredients over ice in a bar glass & stir (or shake) until thoroughly chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass. (With the salted rim, if that’s your thing.)
This is a very strong drink, with the tart juice & the sweet liqueur nicely balanced. Use decent 100% agave tequila. (Lemon juice is OK you don’t have good limes.)
Awesome suggestions, folks! Switching the amounts of lime juice and triple sec should be plenty sweet enough; I’ll try that. I looked around online a bit more and found a site that said not to roll or microwave the limes. I suspect that rolling/microwaving (both techniques make citrus release more juice) might result in flavors from the pith entering the lime juice as well, heightening the bitterness even further.
FWIW I’m not accustomed to Applebee’s margaritas; the good ones I’ve had have been at small local bars and restaurants that make their own margarita mix. But I do suspect they put sugar in the mix. I’d prefer to avoid that, especially if the triple sec increase makes it sweet enough.
I think that one of two things is in play; either tastes have changed and sweeter drinks are more popular than back in the day, or sweet liqueurs like triple sec or maraschino must have been sweeter, because things like margaritas, sidecars, etc… are definitely not as sweet as today’s drinks.
Keep the fresh lime juice and the triple sec- the fresh lime juice and good tequila is the real backbone of a good margarita. Be careful with the peels though- lime zest can be kind of bitter in a way that lemon zest isn’t.
Another thing you may want to do is shake the bejeezus out of the margarita with a lot of ice; it’ll get diluted a little bit, which’ll take the edge off the lime. Most of the old-time drinks like a margarita were intended to be shaken pretty vigorously, and the little bit of dilution and the aeration are part of the profile.
In the “shake or stir” controversies, I’ve mostly read that drinks with juice need shaking.
Pico’s Mex-Mex makes awesome margaritas. If you order one “straight up” they bring it to you in a little cocktail shaker & pour it into the glass. Leaving you with another drink in the shaker–kind of like an old fashioned milkshake!
And if you like something a bit different, try making some habanero infused tequila. Take two whole habanero peppers and add them to a liter of tequila. Let it sit for 2 - 3 days, remove habaneros and rebottle.
It gives the tequila heat, but really no difference in flavor. And the heat is a different kind of heat; it’s not an up front, in your face kind of heat. Drinking it with an acidic margarita and cold (on the rocks or frozen), the heat is in the finish and very subtle. I always have two bottles of tequila on hand now for margaritas, but ever since I started making this, everyone (even people who SWEAR they can’t eat spicy food) prefers the “spicy” margaritas.
Grand Marnier margaritas sometimes go by the name “Cadillac Margaritas.” Cointreau is a triple sec–just one (good) brand of it. I’m not sure whether Grand Marnier is strictly considered a triple-sec or not–it’s based on brandy, while most triple secs are based on neutral spirits. A google cache of the Grand Marnier website seems to indicate that they consider their product a triple sec, so that’s good enough for me.