Homemade Ginger Margarita with Ginger Beer

It’s Cinco de Mayo weekend and that means margaritas! I’ve made a lot of margaritas over the years, but generally I try to keep it simple with margaritas. The real joy of a good margarita is fresh lime juice, good tequila, and salt. However, I recently had this Ginger Margarita and it was kind of mind-blowing. Slightly spicy, super refreshing and very easy to make! What’s not to love?!

A friend introduced me to this margarita after I first ate it at a local taco shop in Denver called Tacos Tequila Whiskey. We’ve been able to reverse engineer the margarita quite successfully, and boy is it a winner!

I like it because instead of making your own sour mix, you can just use canned ginger beer, making these even easier to make than a classic margarita!

Whether you make these individually or in a jar, I guarantee they will be a welcome addition to your weekend menu!

What spirits do you need for ginger margaritas?

There are two key spirits you need to make these ginger margaritas. First you need tequila. I like a good tequila blanco. You can also use mezcal if you like.

No matter which tequila you choose, the main ingredient is this ginger liqueur. There are a few different brands of ginger liqueur but I just went for this Stirrings bottle which has a really fresh ginger flavor – almost spicy! It is very good!

How to mix a ginger margarita

Besides tequila and ginger liqueur, you only need a few ingredients for these margaritas. I like to use agave for sweetness, but you could also use honey. Agave just dissolves a little easier if you shake it.

Then you need fresh lime juice, ginger beer and some salt and tajin to line the glass. The tajin is optional but a nice touch!

Mix these margaritas together by adding 2 ounces of tequila to a cocktail shaker along with 1/2 ounce of ginger liqueur. Then add the juice of half a lime and half an ounce of agave nectar. Pour ice into your shaker and shake well for about 10 seconds.

Rim your glass with a mixture of salt and tajin (run the lime you squeezed around the rim of the glass to help the salt stick).

Then add fresh ice to the glass and strain the margarita. It won’t quite fill the glass, which is good because you’ll have to top it up with 2-3 ounces of ginger beer.

How to Garnish a Ginger Margarita

I thought of a few ways to garnish this cocktail but ended up going with just a lime wedge. That looks pretty classy with the salted rim.

Some other options would be a thin slice of crystallized or candied ginger!

How to make a pitcher out of this margarita recipe

This is a very easy recipe for multiple cocktails. If you want to make a pitcher out of the margaritas, just multiply the ingredients by six. So that would be 12 ounces of tequila, three ounces of ginger liqueur, three ounces of agave, and three limes. Stir this up in your pitcher (or keep in a pitcher) with some ice.

Most importantly, don’t add the ginger beer until you’re about to serve it. Rim glasses with salt and fill with ice. Then fill the glass about 3/4 full with the margarita mixture and top up one at a time with ginger beer.

Cinco de Mayo appetizer ideas

Appetizers are my favorite thing to do this Cinco de Mayo weekend! Of course, this includes a good guacamole. I recommend using a Molcajete if you have one. Otherwise of course you want a good queso recipe and maybe a good homemade salsa like my grilled salsa recipe!

Keep the margaritas flowing and the appetizers full and you’ll be in great shape!

My Ginger Margarita Recipe

Here are a few other great recipes to try!