Upgrade Your Margarita Model to a Cadillac with This Easy Recipe (2024)

Are you ready for the"Cadillac" of margaritas? As the name suggests, this is the ultimate margarita, and it's made with top-shelf ingredients. With a few simple upgrades, the Cadillac margarita is one of the best tequila co*cktails you can mix up. Its golden color only adds to its allure, ensuring it lives up to its namesake's prestige.

The Ingredients You Need—Including the Best Tequila—for a Cadillac Margarita

• The very best tequila: If you want to pull off the proper Cadillac margarita, you need the best reposado tequila you can comfortably afford. Reposado(rested) tequilas are aged in oak casks that mellow the flavors and impart a soft oakiness and light straw color.
• An excellent orange liqueur: You'll want to skip the clear orange liqueurs such as triple sec. Instead, this one deserves the cognac-based Grand Marnier.
• Freshly squeezed lime juice: The final ingredient is just as important as the tequila and the orange liqueur, so be sure to use fresh-squeezed lime juice, not the bottled stuff. You'll also want lime wheels or wedges for garnish and wedges for wetting the margarita glass if you plan to rim it with salt.
• Kosher salt or sea salt (optional): Rimming the glass with salt is optional, but if you choose to add a salt rim you should avoid fine-grained salts, particularly iodized table salt. The crystals are simply too small, get clumpy when wet, and create a very salty co*cktail. For a much better drinking experience, choose a coarse salt, such as kosher salt or sea salt flakes. While there are plenty available and the flavors are fun, you don't need a dedicated "margarita" salt; it's often just kosher or sea salt. You can even make your own flavored salts with citrus zest, herbs, and spices.