The Finest Margarita Combine, In response to Our Style Check

It’s not troublesome to craft Margarita from scratch; the recipe is straightforward and the elements are simple to seek out. However when making, say, a batch of drinks for a big group, pre-batched Margarita combine affords a serious comfort. 

Sometimes made with blanco tequila, orange liqueur, recent lime juice, and a sweetener like agave nectar, the Margarita we all know of in the present day was popularized within the Thirties. Ultimately, manufacturers like José Cuervo launched mixes aimed to be used at residence, providing a technique to get drink within the glass with out having to juice a dozen limes. 

Many bartenders, although, would scoff at the usage of a bottled Margarita combine, largely as a result of many mixes are pasteurized earlier than being bottled. This means of rapidly heating after which cooling the combination can alter the flavour and shade of the combination. Specifically, the recent lime juice can flip considerably bitter and uninteresting. To compensate, many mixes are overly sweetened or characteristic synthetic colours. 

However some prove a cocktail that tastes fairly shut to at least one you’d make from scratch or discover at a cocktail bar. That can assist you benefit from the comfort of a bottled Margarita combine with out compromising on taste, We tasted 10 Margarita mixes side-by-side. 

How we chosen the Margarita mixes

We discovered 10 well-liked Margarita mixes which can be extensively accessible at grocery or liquor shops, or accessible for mail order on-line. We sampled each shelf-stable mixes and ones discovered within the fridge aisle,  which have to be saved chilled. 

Lots of the manufacturers we included provide extra flavored Margarita mixes reminiscent of spicy Margaritas made with jalapeños or  Paloma-Margarita mashups made with the addition of grapefruit juice. For this style take a look at, we solely sampled the usual, “authentic” lime taste. 

How we examined

9 F&W editors participated in a tasting of Margaritas made with the mixes. The entire Margarita mixes have been sampled one after the opposite, with no information of the manufacturers. Every drink was ready per the directions listed on the bottle’s label. We used Astral blanco tequila which is constituted of 100% agave. There was a variety of instructed tequila to mixer ratios between the ten manufacturers, together with 1:2, 2:3, and even an ultra-strong 1:1. Every drink was shaken in a cocktail shaker crammed ⅔ of the way in which with ice for 30 seconds.  

The shaken margaritas have been instantly poured into glasses so our testers have been capable of style them on the optimum temperature and texture. As soon as notes have been taken on a given Margarita, the following was ready instantly. 

We requested our editors to attain every combine primarily based on the next standards: the flavour of the combination (we seemed for pure, recent lime taste); the feel of the drink (an aerated, frothy texture that wasn’t sticky); and the ratio of tequila to mixer. Taste, although, was paramount since mixes can lean overly-sweet, particularly for these used to consuming Margaritas constituted of recent lime juice, triple sec, and tequila even with a small addition of agave.

Finest total: Recent Victor Mexican Lime & Agave 

New to our tasters, Recent Victor’s Margarita combine was a transparent winner. This refrigerated mixer is made with simply 4 elements, together with filtered water, recent lime juice, cane sugar, and a little bit of agave syrup for physique and richness. 

It had a steadiness of candy and tart notes whereas nonetheless letting the tequila taste shine. And it achieved what proved to be probably the most troublesome job of the tasting: delivering true recent lime taste with none extra bitterness. 

It’s no shock that such a spot-on product would come from a Margarita professional. Founder Ken MacKenzie is a veteran of the spirits business, having labored as a advisor for Mexican spirits manufacturers trying to transfer into the US market. MacKenzie additionally based a premium tequila model within the Nineteen Nineties. 

Most conventional style: Basic Margarita Combine by Fever-Tree

Cocktail mixer big Fever-Tree is likely to be finest identified for its bottled tonic waters and flavored membership sodas, however its Margarita combine earned prime marks from our tasters. “That is the one one I’ve tasted that feels prefer it might have come from an precise cocktail bar,” mentioned one editor. 

Fever-Tree’s combine was additionally praised for its silky, not-too-thick texture that yielded a Margarita with ample physique and richness with out being overly sticky. It was an in depth second place, however misplaced factors for its barely synthetic lime observe, a pure problem for shelf-stable cocktail mixers. 

Finest for tequila-lovers: Tommy’s Margarita Combine 

A favourite among the many drink professionals and ex-bartenders collaborating within the style take a look at, this cocktail mixer was launched by legendary bartender Julio Bermejo, who invented the Tommy’s Margarita at his household’s San Francisco restaurant, Tommy’s Mexican, in 1990. 

The Tommy’s Margarita is by nature a tequila-forward recipe and is made with 2 ounces tequila, 1 ounce lime juice, and ½ ounce agave nectar. Saved within the fridge part, Tommy’s bottled margarita combine is made with a easy mixture of recent lime juice, sugar, and water. The end result was recent and vivid with an excellent steadiness of flavors. 

The place this combine actually excelled, although, was in its instructed serving ratio, which featured equal elements combine and tequila, permitting for the spirit to shine via. “The tequila actually comes via right here whereas others did not amplify the style of the spirit as a lot when made to spec,” mentioned one tester. “This could possibly be good or unhealthy, relying on how a lot you want your tequila, so be sure that to make use of tequila.” 

Honorable point out: Grasp of Mixes Margarita Mixer 

This mixer is made with Persian limes, citrus oils, and a mix of each agave and granulated sugar. Whereas some testers craved a bit extra lime punch, it had a pleasing tangy high quality and well-integrated sweetness total. An additional squeeze of recent lime when serving would take a Margarita made with this combine to the following stage. 

The complete listing of contenders, ranked from highest to lowest

1. Recent Victor Mexican Lime & Agave
2. Basic Margarita Combine by Fever-Tree
3. Tommy’s Margarita Combine
4. Grasp of Mixes Margarita Mixer
5. Tres Agaves Basic Lime Margarita Combine
6. Stirrings Easy Margarita Cocktail Combine
7. Dick’s Basic Margarita Mixer
8. Agalima Natural The Genuine Margarita Combine
9. Zing Zang Margarita Combine
10. Barsmith Margarita Combine Triple Citrus