This mint margarita is a basic margarita with a contemporary mint twist. It’s vivid and citrusy with an fragrant and refreshing mint end. It’s naturally gluten-free, refined sugar-free and vegan.
Elements
Please scroll all the way down to the recipe card for the complete recipe.
All you want are the fundamental elements for any margarita: tequila, triple sec, freshly squeezed lime juice, ice and salt for the rim. Add to that 1 to 2 sprigs of contemporary mint.
You too can add 1-2 teaspoons of sweetener, when you’d like.
The tequila
You should use any tequila you’d like. However right here’s why I like to make use of blanco, additionally known as silver or white, tequila in my margarita recipes.
- Clear taste – white tequila has a clear, crisp taste profile with notes of agave, making it a flexible alternative for mixing in cocktails. Its comparatively impartial style permits the opposite elements on this margarita to shine by.
- Look – white tequila retains the colour of the margarita vivid and vibrant. Does it actually matter? Not likely, nevertheless it does look nicer. Since margaritas often embody citrus juice like lime, sustaining a transparent base ensures that the drink seems good.
- Versatile – white tequila is available and reasonably priced. Its versatility additionally makes it appropriate for a variety of margarita variations and taste experiments.
Whereas white tequila is the most typical alternative for margaritas, some recipes might name for aged tequila (reposado or añejo) for added complexity and depth of taste. I’m going for a minty taste right here, so I actually suppose blanco is greatest.
Triple sec
Triple sec is a transparent, orange-flavored liqueur and a key ingredient in margaritas. Its sweetness counteracts the lime’s zesty tartness, making it extra balanced with hints of orange notes.
On this Mangorita recipe, I focus on the distinction between triple sec and Cointreau, each orange liqueurs. If in case you have both one at dwelling, you should use it on this recipe.
Lime juice
Freshly squeezed lime juice provides a layer of freshness that bottled lime juice can’t replicate.
When you’ve tasted bottled lime juice, you’ll discover the flavour is considerably off.
It’s value noting that bottled lime juice typically comprises components and preservatives like sodium metabisulphite or potassium metabisulphite. Whereas these substances assist protect the juice’s pure colour and defend towards micro organism, they’re additionally categorised as allergens and should set off reactions in these delicate to sulfites. It might additionally include sodium benzoate, a identified carcinogen.
Bottled and freshly squeezed lime juice aren’t chemically similar. Bottled lime juice undergoes pasteurization, which includes fast heating and cooling. Sadly, this course of, together with oxidation and the time it spends on the cabinets, can degrade some nutritional vitamins and minerals, notably Vitamin C, which is delicate to warmth and could be considerably diminished by pasteurization.
I do know it is a margarita, and also you in all probability don’t care concerning the lack of nutritional vitamins, however I assumed it was fascinating for future reference. 🙂
Whereas you should use bottled lime juice, I choose squeezing my very own lime juice to get the best-tasting margarita.
Mint kind
Each peppermint and spearmint can add a refreshing twist to margaritas, however spearmint is often the higher alternative. Spearmint has a milder taste in comparison with peppermint, with hints of sweetness and a refreshing aroma that complement the citrusy and tangy notes in margaritas with out overpowering them.
Peppermint, however, has a stronger, cooler taste which may conflict with the opposite elements in a margarita. So, when you’re trying so as to add mint to your margarita, spearmint is usually the popular choice.
Find out how to muddle mint
Recent mint creates a vibrant, refreshing style with a pleasant perfume that completely enhances the flavors on this margarita.
You’ll wish to muddle the mint barely to convey out the oils and improve the minty style.
Over-muddling can lead to a drink harking back to toothpaste relatively than the specified clean and refreshing taste.
To begin, add the leaves to a cocktail shaker (or jar, as I did, so you possibly can see what’s happening within the pictures). Gently press the leaves to launch their important oils. Just a few light presses, round 3 or 4, are essential to extract the juices.
The purpose is to delicately muddle the mint, guaranteeing the oils are launched with out the leaves being crushed into small fragments.
Watch out to not shred or crush the mint excessively, as it will launch bitter chlorophyll, leading to an disagreeable grassy taste in your margarita.
When pouring the completed drink, pressure the combination to take away any mint leaves. When you’d like a extra pronounced mint taste, you possibly can add a number of the muddled mint immediately into the drink for an additional increase.
And if in case you have any mint left over, do that Mint Lemonade I posted not too long ago. It’s good for summer time!
Salted rim
When you’re nervous concerning the further salt consumption from a salted rim, you possibly can skip it.
Nevertheless, the salt enhances the flavour, chopping by the sourness of the lime juice and the sweetness of the orange liqueur, making a extra balanced taste.
To salt the rim, unfold coarse salt on a small plate. Run a sliced lime alongside the rim to moist it, then flip the glass the wrong way up to the salt rim.
Gluten-free
In keeping with Past Celiac, “… pure, distilled tequila, often made with the blue agave plant, is taken into account gluten-free. Even when the tequila is mixtos, that means that it comprises at the least 51% agave with different sugars added, it is going to nonetheless be secure for folks with celiac illness. Nevertheless, be looking out for hidden gluten in tequilas that add flavorings or different components after distillation.”
You’ll be able to click on the hyperlink above to select from the top-listed tequila manufacturers.
As for the orange liqueur, Past Celiac says, “Sure, pure, distilled liqueur, even when made with wheat, barley, or rye, is taken into account gluten-free. Most liqueurs are secure for folks with celiac illness due to the distillation course of.”
Extra margaritas
For extra becoming Cinco de Mayo margaritas, do that Raspberry Margarita or Gin Margarita.
And when you occur to be studying this through the colder months, this Apple Margarita Recipe and this Cranberry Margarita are nice selections.
I hope you’ll take pleasure in this mint margarita. When you make it, I’d love to listen to extra! Please drop a remark beneath and inform me what you suppose. Take pleasure in. 🙂
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- Prep Time:
- Prepare dinner Time:
- Prepared in:
- Yield: 1
Elements
- 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon margarita/coarse salt
- 1-2 sprigs of mint (plus extra for garnish, if desired)
- 2 oz (1/4 cup) blanco (white/silver) tequila
- 1 oz (2 tbsp) triple sec
- 1 oz (2 tbsp) freshly squeezed lime juice
- maple syrup, agave or easy syrup – non-compulsory and to style
- ice
Instructions
- Minimize a lime into quarters and use one to rub alongside the rim of the glass.
- Unfold margarita salt on a small plate after which invert the glass into the salt in order that it sticks to the rim.
- Utilizing a cocktail muddler or the top of a picket spoon, gently muddle the mint (I like to recommend utilizing 1 sprig, after which including extra, if desired) by urgent the leaves. Just a few light presses, round 3 or 4, are essential to extract the juices. Over-muddling will make it flip bitter.
- Add tequila, triple sec, and lime juice and ice. Shake effectively. Style and add sweetener, if desired. 1-2 teaspoons ought to do it.
- Fill a glass with ice and pressure the margarita into it. Garnish with lime wedges and extra mint.
Notes
- Spearmint is best for margaritas than peppermint. Its milder taste enhances the drink with out overpowering it.
