Hands down, the perfect margarita recipe

June 19, 2:44 PMTequila ExaminerRyan Kelley

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  Hands down perfect margarita

Forget everything you know about the margarita.

Forget the legends, traditions, and the label on the side of the "just add tequila and triple sec" mixer. Perfect margaritas don't come in buckets. They don't come in plastic cups; and they do not come from what looks like a 7-Eleven Icee machine. They also don't come in bulk–so, forget the pitcher, too.

Each hands down perfect margarita takes time, care, and a bit of effort. It's OK to deviate from the recipe below, just know that your margarita won't be as good. If you do choose perfection, here's the way to go.

Ingredients

• Salt (optional)
• Ice cubes
• 3 ounces tequila (blanco or reposado)
• 3/4 ounce Cointreau
• 1/2 ounce simple syrup (recipe below)
• 4 lime wedges (about 1 ounce lime juice)

Directions

1) Rub one of the lime wedges around the rim of a martini glass. Dip the glass into a layer of salt. Tap the glass once to remove excess salt. (If you wish to give drinkers a choice, rub the lime wedge around only half the glass.)

2) Discard the used lime into a shaker. Fill the shaker with 6-8 ice cubes, tequila, cointreau, simple syrup, and the juice of the remaining 3 lime wedges.

3) Give it five or six hard shakes. Be careful not to over shake or you may "bruise" the margarita with too much water from the melted ice.

4) Strain into the salted martini glass.

5) Drink and enjoy!

Simple Syrup Recipe

To make about 1.5 cups of simple syrup: In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together 1 cup of granulated sugar with 1 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and, once the sugar is dissolved, remove the pan from heat. Allow the mixture to cool completely. Pour the mixture into a glass jar and refrigerate until use.