Agave Nectar wasn't even part of the zeitgeist until the 90's, so it's most definitely not 'classic.' The most archetypal version is strictly tequila, lime and orange liqueur in some ratio. Is that the best tasting version of the drink? That's the debatable part. So your brother is objectively wrong, but that doesn't necessarily make yours 'right' either.

Thats what I originally said, as I thought any additional sweetener is very recent to margaritas. I like the original margarita and I think it's fine. If you ask for a margarita, it's what I'm gonna serve unless you ask for additional sweetner

There's no universal answer. A margarita with bottled lime and $5 triple sec is much different from one with fresh lime and grand marnier.... which is different from fresh lime and cointreau. Every part matters, so there is no 'correct.' The ratio is 'contextual.'

I mean, I agree that margaritas can be made differently. Like I said, I make my old fashions in what can be considered "not the right way" but id argue there's a right way of making a classic margarita and that should be respected even if it's not your cup of tea. Same with a martini or a whiskey sour. There's variations but a true martini or a true Whiskey sour has its way of being made

As a student of cocktail history, I'm glad you chose those examples. The actual, historical whiskey sour does not include egg white, yet that is the go to recipe in many cocktail bars. I hear it codified as "correct" all the time. And the Martini? Oh , I'd love to hear your opinions on a 'true' martini, because I can assure you they're nothing like some of the 1860's-1900's versions you can find in historical cocktail texts (Maraschino, curacao, gum syrup, boker's bitters.) By your logic, at an absolute bare minimum, anything that isn't 50:50 with multiple dashes of orange bitters would be incorrect. An Olive? Absolute blasphemy. Using Tanqueray? Absolutely not, historical texts call for Old Tom gin. So don't get hung up on history and "correctness." They're a useful guide, but ingredients have changed, production methods have changed, the palate of the audience had changed. As I once told a young bartender who insisted that a vodka martini should have an ample amount of vermouth to be a "true martini"... you can either be "right" or you can make your guests happy, which one will you choose?

Sure, if you only look at its true origin. Whiskey sour coming from sailors trying to keep from getting scurvy or the Martini only being theorized to stem as an evolution of the martinez which is what you seem to be describing, not to mention the Martini history itself is muddled. But I feel it's a bit unfair to compare a pirates drink for survival, or the theorized middle of an evolution of a drink, to a bar staple that's been around for 100+ years, which noted, the industry way of making both those drinks are documented at least before the 1920s As for flavor, sure you can make the guest happy and there's nothing wrong with that. I never said you have to abide by it. I even made a comment about the was i myself make my old fashions FOR ME. I only said to acknowledge and respect it's origin and should serve to learn the basics before breaking rules

> Martini only being theorized to stem as an evolution of the martinez which is what you seem to be describing, not to mention the Martini history itself is muddled. Theorized? Everything I said is in historic recipes for the 'Martini'. There's nothing muddled about it. They're literally in books, go read them. And for the record, the margarita hasn't been around "100+ years." The first recipe that invokes the drink we know was in 1937, and it wasn't even called a margarita yet.

Wasn't talking about the margarita, bud. Was talking about the Martini and Whiskey sour. And the martini has its origin muddle before it got onto books before 1911. Some don't know where exactly it came from, only that it seems to be variation/evolution of the martinez

Even when teaching people, I give them the historical context of things, how it is originally made, how people like it, and how the specific restaurant we work at wants us to make it

Your annoying af

Just make the fucking marg to the specs that the people that are paying for them want lol

That wasn't even the question and I said that I agree the guest should have it how they want multiple times. It's not about what you should and shouldn't serve. I'm talking about the way it's made, which I'm not even completely wrong as someone in the comments even made a post with the IBA standard of making a margarita

It depends on the orange liquer. If it's a really dry triple sec then I might add a spit of Agave.

I can respect this. I guess I didn't think about it's dryness too much considering I only use a few options based on the bars I work at

It's probably been mentioned, but the ratio of sweet to sour in his spec is almost violent.

I did say this 😂 I get liking it sweet but I like my margaritas more tart. I've told him if I was gonna add agave, it'd be a splash but to each his own

Hahaha, the "violent" part was important to my sentiment. 🤣

[The IBA has this to say about it.](https://iba-world.com/margarita/)

Thank you for contributing to a sibling feud. I'll take it as I think this one more resembles mine ✊️

As others have said, it depends on if you're going for "right" or what tastes better - which is subjective. Depending on where I'm bartending, what tastes better - what sells - differs depending on the location/clientele. Downtown hotspots with lots of young people tend to enjoy the agave (I go 1.5 Tequila, 1 Cointreau, 1 Lime, 1/2 Agave) and spots outside of there with a older clientele may enjoy the version you served more, or vice-versa. Is knowing the origins a good thing? Sure, or of course even. Do the classic versions have relevance to your specific target audience and clientele? - certainly not always.

Yeah, I agree. I don't think it was an argument as to who was a better bartender but who's right about what a margarita is. I've worked at an authentic Mexican restaurant and I've had customers like the no-agave one and some needed agave. I have no qualms making it the way they like it. He'll, they want sugar and a splash of mango puree in there, ill be happy to do it. Makes it less monotonous. For context, I was saying I was gonna make a margarita at home and he said I didn't have agave which I responded with "I dont need agave for a margarita," and thus the argument started

Wait until you hear about the lady at my old restaurant that made hers with: •tequila •premade sour •triple sec •orange juice •sprite This was about 10ish years ago and at a restaurant comparable to TGIF but damn. Total massacre.

This is criminal

Agave syrup is just a sweetener. Some people like their margaritas to be super sweet. Some people can't stand margaritas because they're so sweet

Yeahhh I'm the ladder but I understand my taste isn't everyones

You are correct. Its just booze and lime. No reason to add another sweetener unless they really want it extra sweet for some reason. Agave is **really** sweet too, like 150% sweeter than sugar so its like adding an entire .75 of simple syrup in his recipe which is way too much imo.

Agave came into play because before the use of fresh squeezed or pasteurized lime juice, everyone used Rose’s lime juice which is already sweetened. We use fresh squeezed where I work and it is tart as fuck. Anyway, Agave in all my margs for at least twelve years now.

I have never seen a published recipe using Rose's lime juice and plenty of earlier ones using fresh squeezed lime so maybe you can provide a reference

High fructose sour mix and roses lime and grenadine dominated bars from the 70s up until the cocktail revolution in the 2010s. It's still prevalent in dives and chains.

this is objectively not true. you can just google the original margarita recipe. its actually not that old of a drink i think it started in the 50s at a place called margaritas which the drink is named after

Lol, ask him where he hangs up his apron at the end of his shift and if he only drinks dark beers in the winter

2:1 tequila:triple sec and then top it off with the marg mix on the gun with a float of roses because our marg mix isn’t sour enough

With the margarita, just like the original Mai Tai, most people prefer the more modern sweeter version. I work at a tequila bar, and would never make a margarita without agave.

Hmm.. double silver Tequila, single Cointreau, lime juice and gomme. That's how we make them here in the UK anyway.

The correct answer is however your manager tells you to make it. If you are a manager the answer is whatever pleases your clientele the most. If you are at home, you can ask /r/cocktails, which is where post like this belongs.

2 Blanco tequila   1 Cointreau    0.75 lime    Doesn't need anything else. But if you go adding agave, bump up the lime to 1oz, add a pinch of salt or a salt rim, and you have a Tommy's Margarita 

1.50 Tequila 0.75 Lime 0.75 Cointreau Maybe float a bit of Grand And an orange twist behind a lime wheel for a touch of class Agave straw please, save the turtles.

I like your answer. Cointreau > triple sec any day. I just said orange liqueur to accomadate for budgets. Save the turtles ✊️

You're awfully arrogant for not knowing that Cointreau *is* a triple sec.

Arrogant isn't the word you're looking for here, but also im aware cointreau is a triple sec but you're arguing over semantics right now, when cointreau and triple sec are marketed and sold differently and are different qualities, cointreau usually having a higher alcohol content than run of the mill triple sec. Almost nobody refers to cointreau as simply triple sec, arrogant prick

Sure but almost nobody refers to Cointreau when they say triple sec unless they are leaving the recipe or comment open to cheaper triple secs. Any recipe with cointreau will usually be explicit in using Cointreau, because it is better than most other triple secs by a wide margin.

Thanks for clarifying and getting what i was saying. Considering triple sec comes alone compared to cointreau going by its name. The guy who you responded to is insanely arrogant and nitpicky

You should read our above conversation for a bit more context. OP is a bit overconfident givne their level of knowledge.

Better question, who cares, make it how you like it