Mark your calendars because National Margarita Day is coming up on Saturday, February 22nd. To celebrate everyone’s favorite tequila drink, Alan Ruesga-Pelayo, North American Brand Ambassador for Tequila Cazadores, is here to shed some light on the basics and teach you how to make the perfect Margarita at home.

Here’s all you need to know:

A Year-Round Favorite:
Many people associate Margaritas with the summertime, but they’re actually very versatile. By simply incorporating different ingredients like tropical juices, flavored sweeteners (i.e., syrup) or flavored rim salts, or by using a Reposado instead of a Blanco tequila, you can easily change the cocktail’s flavor profile to make it fit any season or time of year.

The Base-ics: 
The base of a Margarita consists of three types of ingredients: tequila, sweet and citrus. The fourth ingredient is the salt rim.

Keep It 100: 
To make a great Margarita, you need to use a 100% agave tequila (such as Tequila Cazadores Blanco or Reposado) versus a mixto.
You also need fresh lime juice (instead of sour mix) and a decent/premium orange liqueur (instead of bottom-shelf Triple Sec).

Easy on the Salt:
You don’t want to go too heavy on the salt rim, so you can either lightly salt the full rim or salt half of the glass.
Speaking of glassware, you can serve a Margarita on the rocks, or up in a coupe glass.

Substitutions/Modifications:
There’s a wide variety of ingredient substitutions/modifications you can use to create your version of the perfect Margarita.
For the sweet ingredient, you can use agave syrup, simple syrup, honey or any fruit syrup.
As a substitute for the orange liqueur, you can use triple sec, blue curaçao, grand marnier or pomegranate liqueur.
You can also incorporate a mix of different citruses and sweet fruits like lime, orange, mango, pomegranate, pineapple, pear, guava, soursop, passion fruit and watermelon.

Cazadores Margarita

Ingredients:

– 1 ½ oz. Tequila Cazadores Blanco (or Reposado)

– ½ oz. Orange Liqueur (or Premium Triple Sec)

– ½ Agave Nectar

– 1 oz. Fresh Lime Juice

Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake and serve over the rocks in glass. Garnish with lime and a salt rim.