When you think Cinco de Mayo, you think margarita. According to Forbes, 47% of the drinks ordered on Mexican Independence Day are margaritas. Sometimes people stick to the classic ones or sometimes try something new. This also makes me curious, can you make a margarita with vodka, even if the traditional recipe uses tequila? If you have also thought about this walk through the article to find out if it is true.
1. What Is a Margarita?
Margarita is America’s most famous and refreshing cocktail. It is a classic cocktail made with tequila, triple sec and freshly squeezed lime juice. Their common form of identification of this mixed cocktail is the salted rim glasses, with a lime wedge perched on the rim.
It originated in Mexico and the traditional recipe consists of tequila, triple sec and fresh lime juice in a 10:4:3 ratio. It is usually served on the rocks i.e. with ice, without ice or as a form of a slushie as it is blended with ice
The triple sec used in margarita is an orange liqueur, the most popular brand used is Cointreau. Apart from that, other brands of liqueur or other flavours give different variations of margarita. Here are some of those variations
1.1 The Cadillac Margarita
The Cadillac margarita originates when you substitute triple sec with Grand Marnier. It is also another popular brand of orange-flavoured liqueur
1.2 The Blue Margarita
The blue margarita is made by substituting Cointreau with blue curacao. Its name is blue margarita because of the colour of the liqueur. There are two types of curacao available, dry curacao and blue curacao. Both of the variations are the same, except the blue one has an infusion of a blue dye. This imparts colour to the drinks.
1.3 Mint Margaritas
These are a little sweeter as the ratio of triple sec and lime juice is equal and a few mint leaves are also thrown in. It makes the drink more fruity and enhances the citrus flavour of the drink, making it more sweeter.
1.4 Blood Orange Margarita
In the traditional margarita recipe, adding a little blood orange juice and a few sprigs of sage gives the perfect blood orange margarita. Blood oranges have a stronger and slightly bitter taste than normal oranges. This peculiar taste is what makes the drink a little stronger
Photo by Aleisha Kalina on Unsplash 2021
Many variations of margaritas are possible by using different liqueurs or different alcohols. Liquors like beer or vodka making a sunrise beer margarita or a vodka margarita. You can also use different flavours of soda like raspberry, strawberry grapefruit, etc.
Also check out: What Is the best tequila for margaritas?
2. Can You Make a Margarita with Vodka?
The traditional recipe although comprises of tequila, you can make a margarita with vodka too. It is a vodka margarita shortened to vodkarita or a kamikaze. As the name suggests we use vodka instead of tequila.
The recipe includes vodka, orange liqueur or, lime juice and orange juice. The recipe of vodkarita includes orange juice which is not included in the traditional recipes of margaritas. Although margarita variations include a lot of stuff the original recipe doesn’t.
People who prefer vodka over tequila can enjoy the vodkarita and have the fruity experience of margaritas and enjoy the fresh citrus flavour.
You can make vodka margaritas the same as traditional margaritas by varying the brands of orange liqueur used or using a different citrus liqueur. you can also use soda, and substitute lime juice for other citrus fruit juices. Paloma is a variation of a margarita made with grapefruit soda.
3. Vodka Margarita Recipe
It is fairly easy to make a vodka margarita aka vodkarita and it only needs a handful of ingredients. And it doesn’t take much time too. Follow this delicious recipe for a classic vodka margarita and see for yourself. For the given recipe which makes 1 serving of vodka margarita, cocktail calories: 220 calories, prep time 5 minutes
Photo by Kike Salazar N on Unsplash 2021
3.1 Ingredients
1. Vodka
Choose a brand of vodka of your choice. Using a good quality vodka like Absolut, Finlandia, Grey Goose, etc. Using good quality vodka is important as the standard for tequila is too high and you are using vodka instead of tequila so you have to make sure you use good quality alcohol. For the recipe, you need 2 ounces of vodka.
2. Lime Juice
You can buy lime juice from the store or you can squeeze a lime to get the lime juice. It is better to use freshly squeezed lime juice as it makes the vodka margarita more refreshing and fresh. It is not required in large quantities so, it is not much work too.
3. Orange Liqueur
Triple sec is the second most important ingredient of a margarita. You can use brands like Cointreau, Grand Marnier or any orange liqueur for the drink. You should use Cointreau as it is authentically used in vodka margaritas.
4. Simple Syrup
It is a liquid sweetener made by dissolving sugar in water. To substitute simple syrup you can use honey or agave syrup. You can use it to sweeten the cocktail further.
5. Ice
It is optional but it is best to serve margaritas chilled, you can forgo the ice or even you can blend the ice and serve the drink as a slushie.
6. Garnish
A margarita is incomplete without a salt rim and a lime wedge. You need kosher salt or sea salt for it. You can not use table salt because it does not give that look and it may not even stick nicely. The lime wedge is a decoration by perching on the rim over the salt.
3.2 Instructions
Photo by Kike Salazar N on Unsplash 2019
1. In a cocktail shaker add vodka, 1 ounce of lime juice and ½ ounce of triple sec and ½ ounce of simple syrup over ice. Shake for 20 seconds until the contents mix and chill
2. Take a cocktail glass and start by tipping its rim with salt, to do so apply some lime juice on the rim and dip the rim of the glass in salt. Then add ice to the glass.
3. Strain the cocktail in the cocktail shaker and pour it over ice in your salt-rimmed glass
4. Add a lemon wedge on the rim of the glass and enjoy your vodka margarita
You can vary the amount of ingredients depending on the requirement of the drinks and the number of people drinking it.
4. Some Tips and Tricks
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You can change your vodka margarita and enhance its flavours or add a few things and customise your drink and serve your variation. Here are some tips and tricks to make your vodka margaritas more exciting
1. Chill your vodka beforehand, this way you can forgo the ice for your vodka margarita if you have any issues with that
2. Use freshly squeezed lime juice, it adds flavour and freshness to your vodka margarita recipe and enhances it Overall.
3. You can switch the lime juice with lemon juice and make it a lemon vodka margarita. You may need to alter the recipe to make the cocktail better
4. You can use any flavoured vodka and make a margarita with vodka, based on whatever flavour you like. For instance, you can use cranberry-flavored vodka to make a cranberry vodka margarita.
You can add a few flavoured herbs like basil, sage or thyme to enhance and sharpen the flavour of the cocktail.
Conclusion
The Mexican drink margarita, which is famously associated with Cinco de Mayo, is made with tequila, but as time has progressed there have been numerous variations of the cocktail. Varying the flavours of the liquors or liqueurs in the cocktail has made it even more popular and liked by the people. The traditional liquor used in the recipes is tequila, but is making a margarita with vodka feasible? Yes, margaritas with vodka are called Vodka margaritas aka vodkarita.
To make a vodka margarita, you need vodka, lime juice, triple sec and ice. many recipes use simple syrup or orange juice which is optional. Triple Sec is an orange liqueur and Cointreau is the best choice for a margarita.
In a cocktail shaker, add vodka, triple sec, fresh lime juice and ice. shake the cocktail for about 20 seconds. In a cocktail glass, make a salt rim, by dipping the wet rim of the glass in salt. Pour the cocktail from the cocktail shaker and serve. Your vodka margarita is ready.
To enhance your recipe you should use freshly squeezed lime juice instead of store-bought lime juice as it enhances the flavours and adds a refreshing taste to the cocktail. You can also vary the recipe by using a variety of flavours of liqueur-like you can use raspberry or strawberry liqueurs, you can change the ratio of the ingredients or add some more flavoured syrups and make more margarita recipes on your own. Many people use soda or flavoured sodas to make the drink fizzy.
Modifications and customisation of your cocktail based on your flavours and demands. You can even create your recipes and play around with the recipe or you can stick to the original one, it is always up to you.
Last Updated on by Ananya Chugh
