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For when you can’t decide between a Marg and an Amaretto Sour.
About the cocktail
Remember those Old El Paso ads where the family is struggling to choose between hard and soft tacos? Rather than breaking the deadlock, the young daughter offers a slice of wisdom beyond her years: “Por qué no los dos?” In other words, why not have both? Besides reminding us that life was simpler back in 2009 when the ad came out, it’s a great philosophy for picking between two of the world’s greatest cocktails – the Margarita and Amaretto Sour. Don’t choose, have an Italian Margarita instead. The Italian Margarita (AKA Amaretto Margarita) blends everything we love about those two classic cocktails. You’ve got the earthy sweetness of tequila from the Margarita side and the sweet marzipan flavours from an Amaretto sour, all wrapped up in the zesty citrus notes of both. It makes for a nutty twist on the classic Margarita that works a treat. With this version of the Italian Margarita, our cocktail recipe writers have tweaked tradition in a couple of ways. Here, orange juice subs in for the orange-flavoured liqueur triple sec, giving everything a bright and fresh tang. The recipe also calls for reposado tequila instead of blanco – a richer, aged version with more flavour and depth than the unaged style in a classic Marg. And we know no one needs an excuse to try out a variation on a Marg, but we think this will go especially well in the holiday season – Christmas in particular. Those almond flavours (ramped up by an amaretti biscuit garnish) and zesty tequila notes really say out-of-office to us.
Ingredients
40mL reposado tequila 15mL amaretto 10mL lime juice 15mL orange juice 10mL agave syrup Glass: rocks Garnish: lime wheel and amaretti biscuit
Method
Add all your ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice Shake until the outside of the tin is frosty Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice Garnish with a lime wheel in the drink, and an amaretti biscuit on the side of the glass
Dan’s top tips
It’s not a Margarita without tequila, and here we’re calling for reposado. Unlike blanco (AKA silver) tequila, reposado spends a little time ageing in oak, giving it a richer and fuller flavour. That extra richness works really well here, but you can definitely use blanco if you prefer the classic Margarita approach. And if you really want to dial up the tequila’s richness, you could even try swapping the reposado for añejo tequila. When it comes to citrus, fresh is always best. It doesn’t matter if you’re making an Italian Margarita or a Screwdriver, fresh-squeezed citrus will give you a more vibrant acidity and the best possible flavour. That means juicing your own oranges and limes is the ideal way to go. That said, if all you can get is a carton of OJ, that’ll still do fine. And a final note on the sweetener here – we’re calling for agave syrup, which works really well with the agave flavours of tequila. If you can’t get your hands on agave syrup, though, regular sugar syrup is an easy sub with great results.
What is the difference between an Italian Margarita and a classic Margarita?
A classic Margarita is made from blanco tequila, lime juice, triple sec and sugar syrup or agave syrup. With our Italian Margarita, we’re swapping blanco tequila for reposado and triple sec for orange juice, while adding amaretto.
What is the difference between reposado tequila and blanco tequila?
Blanco tequila is unaged (or otherwise aged for a very short time). Reposado tequila spends time aging in oak barrels, giving the final tequila extra colour, flavour and depth.
- What does an Italian Margarita taste like?
Our Italian Margarita is citrusy and fresh with plenty of almond flavours alongside the subtle earthiness of tequila.
image credits: Kayla May (photography), Bridget Wald (styling).
