Margarita Mocktail

The best Margarita Mocktail recipe

For this tasty mocktail, we’re leaving the tequila on the shelf. You’ll need to replace the zesty, sweet flavor it brings, though. By mudding together lime, orange, and lemon juice, you can achieve a similar flavor profile that also mimics the sharp kick of tequila. For that quintessential tart and sweet Margarita balance, always use freshly squeezed juice. A logical sweetener to swirl in would be agave nectar, as tequila is also made from this succulent plant.

For the final je ne c’est quoi, that foxy flavor we all know and love, add a little olive brine, which is the liquid from your jar of olives. Got leftovers? Use up olive brine to make our Dirty Martini recipe. Add a little soda for fizz and texture, and, of course, all good Margaritas need a salty rim. So, wipe the edge of a rocks or coupe glass with a lime wedge and dip the glass into a saucer of flaky sea salt. Just tap off the excess before you pour in your mocktail.

Tips for the best Margarita Mocktail

Making a Margarita mocktail recipe that’s perfect for you is very subjective. Some like it tangy, and others prefer it sweet, so here are our top tips for making it just so:

To chill: when making your Margarita mocktail, you’ll still need to shake it up with ice just like a boozy one for a good 15 seconds. This gives the chill factor and blends all the ingredients well.

To sweeten: using freshly squeezed juices will deliver a sweeter drink, but if the lime and lemon are still too snappy for you, up your orange juice or add a little extra agave to taste.

To look the part: always use kosher or sea salt for your Marg’s classic salty rim. Avoid table or fine salt as it’s too intense. Add a little lime, lemon, or orange zest to the salt for extra tang and color.

To spice it up: for a spicy kick, muddle a few jalapeño slices with your olive brine and agave before you mix in your juices. Add a pinch of chili flakes to your salt, or try a tangy tajin rim to garnish your Margarita mocktail recipe.

To serve your whole squad: this recipe scales up easily so you can serve a crowd. Prepare your freshly squeezed juices up to 4 hours in advance, and make sure to chill them well. Add the soda last minute before serving.

To get bitter: for a more tangy flavor, switch the soda for tonic water to give a deeper bitter taste to your drink.

Tonic water or sparkling water?

Cocktail purists will choose tonic over sparkling or soda water, mostly. Both drinks have the fizz, which is a key building block of a mocktail or cocktail as it gives it texture. The difference is tonic water is slightly sweetened and has quinine, which gives it a bitter tang. Sparkling water or soda water can seem a little two-dimensional in a drink compared to tonic, unless you have a magic ingredient like olive brine, which adds that nuance of flavor without adding sugar. We’ll let you decide.