Celebrating Cinco de Mayo with Mexico’s Best Margarita Recipes
It’s Cinco de Mayo, which means margarita consumption worldwide will be at an all-time high. In honor of the high holy fiesta, we reached out to a few of our favorite hotels in Mexico to get some creative recipes. From the beaches of the Mayan Riviera to the urban jungle of Mexico City, here are some new takes on the classic. The only thing left for you to decide: salted rim or plain? ¡Salud!
Rosewood Mayakoba, Riviera Maya
The Garden Margarita at Rosewood Mayakoba. (Photo: Rosewood Mayakoba)
On a mile-long white-sand beach just north of Playa Del Carmen, Rosewood Mayakoba is becoming a foodie destination thanks to its new outdoor dining concept, La Ceiba Kitchen & Garden, set up several nights a week at a rustic-chic picnic table in the resort’s garden. The restaurant’s Garden Mixologist gave us the recipe for his highly addictive margarita.
Garden Margarita
1.5 oz Clase Azul Tequila infused with lemongrass
1 oz fresh lime juice
¾ oz Cointreau
¾ ounce agave nectar
On the rocks: Pour all ingredients in a shaker and add enough ice to reach ¾ of the shaker. Shake well and serve in a rocks glass with chili powder and/or salt on the rim, and decorate with a slice of lime.
Related: Salud! Make the Perfect Tequila in Six “Easy” Steps
Frozen: Pour all the ingredients in a blender and add approximately 8 ounces of ice cubes. Blend until frozen. Serve in a margarita glass with chili powder and/or salt on the rim and decorate with a slice of lime.
One&Only Palmilla, Cabo San Lucas
The margarita offerings at One&Only Palmilla (Photo: One&Only Palmilla)
On the shores of the Baja Peninsula, the glamorous One&Only Palmilla just reopened after last fall’s devastating hurricane. In honor of the opening, the resort has three new margarita recipes, including a version with mezcal and a virgin option. Our favorite is the cucumber guava margarita.
Cucumber Guava Margarita
2 oz tequila
1 oz triple sec
1 slice cucumber
1 large guava (or 5 small guavas)
¾ oz lime juice
¾ oz simple syrup
Instructions: Place ingredients in a blender, top with ice, and blend. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.
Zamas, Tulum
Zamas’s Rosa Espinosa margarita (Photo: Zamas Hotel)
The boho-chic Zamas, a resort split between the white-sand beach and the jungle of Tulum, hosts a bartender series for visiting mixologists. And these seriously delicious margaritas really help keep guests coming back to this effortlessly stylish little spot.
Rosa Espinosa Margarita
¾ oz Don Julio Reposado infused with habanero chile (3-4 sliced chiles in the bottle for 1-4 hours gives optimal spice)
¾ oz Don Julio Reposado (no habanero)
¾ oz Controy
¼ oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
¾ oz watermelon purée
Instructions: Dip glass in grenadine (for color) with a sugar-salt rim. Pour ingredients over ice and stir.
Grand Solmar Land’s End Resort & Spa Cabo San Lucas
Grand Solmar’s version. (Photo: Grand Solmar)
Grand Solmar Land’s End Resort combines the best of both worlds: set along the private white sand beaches just a 10-minute walk from downtown Cabo San Lucas.
La Vida Verde or “Green Life” Margarita
1 serrano chile, sliced
1 oz triple sec
2 oz Mango Perfect Purée
Chipotle
¾ oz lime juice
¾ oz simple syrup
Instructions: Can be served on the rocks or frozen (just add everything to the blender), though both methods are garnished with a slice of lemon and a coriander branch.
Nizuc Resort + Spa, Cancun
Nizuc Resort + Spa’s Margarita Nizuc. (Photo: Nizuc Resort + Spa)
Nizuc Resort + Spa, located just outside of Cancun on the secluded shores of Punta Nizuc, elevates the usual tequila game with a sophisticated interpretation of the beloved cocktail. At the two-story Bar Akan, overlooking the turquoise sea, guests can enjoy the signature Nizuc Margarita, which offers a refreshing twist, infused with cucumber and dill.
Margarita Nizuc
1.5 oz silver tequila
½ oz fresh lime juice
½ oz triple sec
125 grams cucumber
10 grams dill
Las Alcobas, Mexico City
The Margarita Ensenada at Las Alcobas (Photo: Las Alcobas)
Las Alcobas, a high-design boutique hotel in Mexico City’s posh Polanco neighborhood, serves its version with a foam topping.
Margarita Ensenada
2 oz Don Julio 70
1 oz triple sec
1 oz lemon juice)
1 oz simple Syrup)
2 oz sea salt foam
2 grams sugar
6 oz water
2 grams sea salt from Colima, Mexico
Instructions: Blend with a hand blender and scoop out with a slotted spoon. Mix all and shake with ice. Strain into the glass. Top with foam. Garnish with lime zest.
St. Regis Punta Mita
The Punta Mita Orange and Hibiscus Margarita (Photo: St. Regis Punta Mita)
On the Pacific Coast of Mexico along the Riviera Nayarit, the St. Regis Punta Mita Resort is known for its fleet of butlers, who are there to cater to your every whim. We bet they’d even come to your house to whip up one of the resort’s signature orange and hibiscus margaritas, if you asked.
Punta Mita Orange and Hibiscus Margarita
2 oz Tequila Patron Silver
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz fresh orange juice
1 oz hibiscus water
Instructions: Squeeze half a lime into your favorite shaker. Add ice, ingredients, and shake. Pour into a tumbler glass. Add a citrus twist and garnish.
Esperanza Resort, Cabo San Lucas
Esperanza Resort’s Cabo Green Margarita (Photo: Esperanza Resort)
Part of the California-based Auberge Resorts Collection, Esperanza Resort — overlooking the Sea of Cortez — brings that healthy green California vibe to its margarita.
Cabo Green Margarita
2 oz silver tequila (100 percent blue agave)
1 oz pineapple juice
4 slices cucumber
1.5 slices cucumber for decoration
7 leaves fresh cilantro
½ oz freshly squeezed lime
½ oz agave honey or simple syrup
1 teaspoon “Tajin” (a seasoning made with chili pepper, lime and salt powder)
Related: 8 Resorts Putting a New Twist on Tequila
Instructions: Put the 4 slices of cucumber, the leaves of cilantro, and the tequila in a shaker, mashed with a pestle and strain it. Add the rest of ingredients in the shaker (except the “Tajin” powder), fill the shaker with ice, and shake it for 10 seconds; serve it in margarita or whisky glass rimmed with “Tajin.” If you prefer to have your Cabo Green Margarita frozen, add all the ingredients (except the “Tajin” powder) into a blender.
El Dorado Royale, A Spa Resort, by Karisma, Riviera Maya
El Dorado Royale’s Mayan Margarita. (Photo: El Dorado Royale, A Spa Resort, by Karisma)
The Mayan Margarita — served at El Dorado Royale, A Spa Resort, by Karisma, a beachfront hotel on the Mayan Riviera — is the perfect combination of smoky, sweet, and sour.
Mayan Margarita
1 oz Xtabentun, a liquor made in the Riviera Maya region from honey produced by local bees
1.5 oz mezcal
1 oz lime juice
1 oz orange juice
1 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz simple syrup
Instructions: Blend ingredients together with 100 grams of ice.
Four Seasons Punta Mita
Margarita Aguachile at the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita. (Photo: Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita)
Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita’s resident tequila master Alfredo Sanchez shares his famed Margarita Aguachile recipe. Simple and spicy — with just the right amount of heat — it’s the perfect cocktail to toast the holiday.
Margarita Aguachile
1.5 oz Don Julio tequila reposado
1 oz Cointreau
2 oz jalapeño syrup (see recipe below)
Dash lime juice
Cilantro salt (or substitute coarse sea salt)
1 jalapeno
Instructions: Rim a margarita glass with cilantro salt. Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Pour contents into the margarita glass and garnish with a caramelized jalapeño.
Related: Cinco de Mayo the Right Way: Tasting Tequila and Mezcal in Mexico
Jalapeño syrup
1 English cucumber
1 jalapeño
40 grams cilantro
10 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
20 oz simple syrup (combine 2.5 cups water with 2.5 cups sugar and heat until sugar is dissolved, then cool)
Instructions: Add all the ingredients in the blender and blend until you get a liquid consistency.
Secrets the Vine Cancun
The Vine Garita at Secrets the Vine Cancun. (Photo: Secrets the Vine Cancun)
Ariel Morales, sommelier at the all-inclusive Secrets the Vine Cancun, set on a powder-white beach, gives the margarita a sweet twist with an unexpected ingredient: honey.
The Vine Garita
1.5 oz tequila
1 oz Grand Marnier
2 oz lime juice
1 oz orange juice
¾ oz honey
Instructions: Mix the ingredients in a martini glass with ice and serve in a cold martini glass with salt on the rim.
WATCH: How to P*ss Off the Locals in Mexico
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