I’m a new fan of the 3-2-1 Margarita recipe… 3 parts Tequila, 2 parts Cointreau, 1 part lime juice. (Substitute Grand Marnier or Triple Sec for the 2 parts, and to make things sweet and economical, any decent Margarita “Mix” for the 1 part lime juice).

I love my Margaritas with salt, thank you. Strained into a chilled martini glass please. Bliss! This would be a Margarita “straight up”.

Actually, I prefer salt half-rimmed around the glass. That way, you can lick the salt and sip, or just sip from the un-salted part.

Purists will say, “oh, the salt is just there to mask the flavor of low quality tequila”… that may be true, but I enjoy a little salt, just for the experience of a salty/sweet/smooth Tequila cocktail.

And the *best* Margaritas are made with Silver, or Blanco Tequilas, only. Period. Once you go Silver, you’ll never go back to “gold”. Gold being simply a colored tequila. Now, we’re not talking about Anejo or Reposado aged tequilas… While I still think they don’t belong in a proper Margarita… they are wonderful on their own, over ice… sipped. Especially the top shelf varieties.

This post was inspired by a nice Margarita Recipe page at Jeff Heusser’s neonmargarita.com that lists a few varieties of the sexy, sultry Margarita and all “her” variations. Margarita are female, aren’t they?

Jeff lists a 3-2-1 recipe, as well as mentioning he loves Nellie & Joe’s Famous Lime Juice as his secret ingredient. Made with Key Limes, Nellie & Joe’s is in our ‘fridge as an exotic offering of the lime juice component.

Do you like yours straight up or on the rocks? Silver or gold?