With Cinco de Mayo being on a Thursday this year and finals week coming to an end for most, why not celebrate? For those graduating soon and for those who have just begun to understand how college life works, here’s to you! Congratulations, you did it! What better way to celebrate with some cocktails?
1. The Classic Margarita
Nothing beats Cinco de Mayo without a legendary classic margarita in hand.
Yield: Makes 1 Time: 5 minutes Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
For a single margarita:
- 1 ½ oz. tequila, silver or reposado
- 1 oz. Cointreau (orange liqueur)
- ¾ oz. freshly-squeezed lime juice (seriously, needs to be fresh)
- Optional: agave nectar or simple syrup for sweetening
- Ice
- Lime wedges and salt for rimming the glass
For a pitcher of margaritas (8 servings):
- 3 cups tequila, silver or reposado
- 2 cups Cointreau
- 1 ½ cups freshly-squeezed lime juice
- Optional: agave nectar or simple syrup for sweetness
- Ice
- Lime wedges and salt for rimming the glasses.
Instructions:
For single serving:
- Start by rimming the glass with a lime wedge. Fill a shallow bowl with salt and dip the rim of the glass in the salt until completely covered. Set aside.
- Add tequila, lime juice and Cointreau into a cocktail shaker and shake until all combined.
- Taste it and depending on your sweetness level, stir in a half-teaspoon of agave or simple syrup until the concoction reaches your desire.
- Fill glass with ice. Pour in the margarita mix over the rocks. Garnish with lime wedge or wheel.
For a pitcher:
- Prep your glasses like you would for a single serving.
- Stir in tequila, lime juice and Cointreau together in a large pitcher until combined.
- Add in desired sweetener (2-3 tbsp to start) until the margarita mixture has reached your level of satisfaction.
- Fill the glasses with ice. Pour in the mixture over the rocks. Garnish and serve immediately.
Recipe from: Gimme Some Oven
2. Sangria Swirled Frozen Margaritas
Pink drinks are never optional. This drink screams, “make me, make me!”
Yield: Makes 2 Time: 5 minutes Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
For the sangria swirl mixture:
- 1 cup red wine, freeze in a ice cube tray
- 2 tbsp triple sec (orange liqueur)
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice (I can not say this enough)
- Juice of half an orange
- A lime
For the regular frozen margarita mixture:
- 6 oz. frozen limeade concentrate
- 2 shots tequila
- 1 shot triple sec
- 1 cup of ice
Instructions:
- Start by rimming the glasses with a lime wedge and dip the rim into a shallow bowl of salt.
- Puree the frozen red win cubes with the triple sec, lime juice, and orange juice into a blender.
- Pour into a small glass and put on the side.
- Add the limeade concentrate (not defrosted), tequila, triple sec, and ice into the blender and puree until slushy.
- With the margarita mixture, evenly distribute between the two glasses. Then add in the sangria mixture to give it the “swirl.”
***For tips and tricks see the recipe online.
Recipe from: Dessert for Two
3. Clementine-Jalapeño Margarita
For those who like a little fire and kick to their drinks, this one is for you.
Yield: makes 1 Time: 5 minutes Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. tequila reposado
- 2 oz. fresh juice of clementine (about 2)
- 1 oz. fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp. chopped jalapeño
- ½ tsp. honey or agave
- Ice
- Some sea salt
- Thinly sliced jalapeño rounds
- Lime or clementine wheel
Instructions:
- Start by rimming the glass in a lime wedge and dip the rim into a shallow salt bowl.
- Add the tequila, clementine juice, lime juice, chopped jalapeño, and honey into a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Shake vigorously and strain over ice into your rimmed glass.
- Garnish with jalapeño rounds and a lime/clementine wheel if you’re feeling fancy!
Recipe from: Domesticate Me
4. The Corona-Rita
All you beer lovers out there, this will satisfy your craving but keep you in mix of the Cinco de Mayo margarita fun.
Yield: Makes 6 Time: 10 minutes Difficulty: Easy Intermediate
Ingredients:
- 5 cups of ice
- 1 cup high quality tequila
- ½ cup Grand Marnier or any orange-flavored liqueur
- 5 limes
- 1 orange
- 1 cup of simple syrup
- 6 beers, Corona
- 1/3 cup coarse sea salt
Instructions:
- Prep your glasses by coating the rim with a lime wedge and dipping into salt bowl.
- Juice the 5 limes and 1 orange into the blender.
- Add in 1 cup of tequila, ½ cup of Grand Marnier, and simple syrup to blender and mix.
- Add ice to the blender (just enough so the margarita mix is not covered). Blend for an extra few seconds until desired thickness is achieved.
- Pour the frozen margarita texture into the salt-rimmed glass.
- Pop open a Corona and place it upside down in the glass, submerging it into the margarita mix. Repeat for each glass.
Recipe from: Jerry James Stone
5. The Frozen Virgin Strawberry Margarita
This one is perfect for those who are choosing to go alcohol-free or are not of age yet.
Yield: makes 4 Time: 5 minutes Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup coarse sugar
- 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled & chopped
- 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp. agave or honey
- 1 ½ cups crushed ice
- 4 fresh strawberries for garnish
Instructions:
- Prep the margarita glass by running a lime wedge around the rim and dipping it into a shallow bowl of coarse sugar.
- Place the chopped strawberries, orange juice, lime juice and agave into a blender and pulse several times.
- Taste and add more agave for desired sweetness.
- Add crushed ice and pulse until desired consistency is reached.
- Pour drink into the prepared glass.
- Garnish each drink with a fresh strawberry and serve immediately.
***For a non-virgin strawberry margarita, add a splash of tequila and triple sec.
Recipe from: Barbara Bakes
Happy Cinco de Mayo and please drink responsibly!