Applebee's Perfect Margarita Recipe: Sip on Signature

We all like a good margarita every now and then. But what about the perfect margarita? Before dismissing it, you might want to consider trying out this Applebee’s perfect margarita recipe.

Premium ingredients include reposado, Cointreau, and Grand Marnier, all balanced with some syrup and sweet and sour mix, and olives to top it all off. That’s basically how Applebee’s margarita recipe achieves perfection. You could also try some sweet variations like a fruity margarita. If you’d rather have your margarita tropical, we got that covered too.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Tips
• Applebee's Perfect Margarita Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients

• Tequila — 1 ½ oz.
• Cointreau — ¾ oz.
• Grand Marnier — ¾ oz.
• Lime juice — 1 oz.
• Sweet and sour mix — 2 oz.
• Olive — for garnish.
• Ice — 1 pack.
• Simple syrup — 1 oz.
• Salt — for rimming.

Instructions

1. Before you start, chill the serving glasses.

2. Fill your cocktail shaker with ice at least halfway.

3. Add the other ingredients — tequila, Cointreau, Grand Marnier, lime juice, simple syrup, and the sweet and sour mix.

4. Shake the mixture for half a minute or so.

5. Rim the serving glasses with salt.

6. Using your strainer, pour the drink into the glasses.

7. Garnish with an olive if you’d like.

Substitutions

• Tequila — Tequila, perhaps along with vodka, is one of the most commonly used ingredients when it comes to making a cocktail. This Applebee’s margarita recipe calls for reposado tequila. Reposado is aged between a few months and a year in barrels, hence it is also known simply as ‘aged tequila.’ Thanks to the barrels, reposado comes with a variety of rich flavors that you probably just won’t get enough of. 1800 reposado tequila is most definitely the best you can get, and the original Applebee’s margarita recipe calls for that one, as well.

• Cointreau — A high-end, premium orange liqueur, Cointreau might come at a relatively high price, but you won’t regret it. It has a perfect balance of sweet and sour tastes, with just enough alcohol content. If the 40% alcohol content is too much for you, you might want to consider going with a simple orange juice concentrate. If the alcohol won’t be a problem, orange bitters would do well, with much less alcohol content.

• Grand Marnier — This one is fairly similar to Cointreau, so much so that in most cases the two could be used interchangeably. If you’re sure about making a substitute, you could still get away with using Triple sec instead.

• Simple syrup — Simple syrup is another common margarita ingredient. One of the many things that makes Applebee's perfect margarita recipe so good is the balanced taste, and you need simple syrup for that. It helps balance the sour taste of lime juice perfectly. But you could also use other sweeteners like fruit juice and Grenadine.

Variations

• Fruit margarita — Although there are different variations, the fruit margarita is perhaps one of the most popular ones. Our Applebee’s margarita recipe could easily be turned into a fruit margarita with some simple changes. The strawberry margarita, for example, is a refreshing, sweet, and tasty summertime drink, made with strawberries and strawberry puree. If you’d like to go with a tropical margarita, on the other hand, what about mango tequila? Again, mango and mango puree is all you need. You could also make yourself a refreshing herbal margarita as well, made with some fresh basil leaves. It’s an unforgettable cool twist.

Equipment

• Cocktail shaker.

• Serving glasses.

• Cocktail jigger.

• Cocktail strainer.

Storage

• Transfer any leftover margarita into an airtight container.

• Store your Applebee’s margarita in your fridge. It will last for up to seven days. Keep checking for funning smells and looks, though.

Tips

• The glasses — Although this one might seem unimportant; we’d strongly recommend rimming the glasses with salt. This will improve both the flavor and the texture of your margarita.
  Another important thing is chilling the glasses beforehand. Indeed, you will already be using ice for some freshness, but it simply won’t be enough if your glasses are warm.