Mocktails are no longer viewed as a vibe killer, and non-alcoholic drinks are all the rage these days! It’s time to learn how to make a bang-on-trend Margarita mocktail that’s so delicious you’ll wanna keep refilling all night long. Who needs tequila?
Non-Alcoholic Margarita Recipe
PREP TIME 10 min
QUICK TIPS
INGREDIENTS
MAKE FOR
1 Person
2
Oz
60
Ml
2
Parts
Freshly squeezed lime juice
1
Oz
30
Ml
1
Parts
Freshly squeezed orange juice
1
Oz
30
Ml
1
Parts
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
1
Dash of olive brine
1
Teaspoon agave nectar (or maple syrup)
2
Oz
60
Ml
2
Parts
Club soda
1
Lime wheel to garnish
Sea salt for rimming (optional)
Ice
INSTRUCTIONS
01
1.
Run a lime wedge around the rim and dip the glass in salt
02
2.
Twist the glass until thoroughly coated and tap off any excess salt
03
3.
Half-fill a cocktail shaker or mason jar with ice
04
4.
Add the juices, olive brine and agave
05
5.
Shake for 15 seconds until chilled
06
6.
Pour into your prepared glass and top with soda
07
7.
Garnish with lime and serve
The best Margarita Mocktail recipe
For this tasty mocktail, we’re leaving the tequila on the shelf. You’ll need to replace the zesty, sweet flavor it brings, though. By mudding together lime, orange, and lemon juice, you can achieve a similar flavor profile that also mimics the sharp kick of tequila. For that quintessential tart and sweet Margarita balance, always use freshly squeezed juice. A logical sweetener to swirl in would be agave nectar, as tequila is also made from this succulent plant.
For the final je ne c’est quoi, that foxy flavor we all know and love, add a little olive brine, which is the liquid from your jar of olives. Got leftovers? Use up olive brine to make our Dirty Martini recipe. Add a little soda for fizz and texture, and, of course, all good Margaritas need a salty rim. So, wipe the edge of a rocks or coupe glass with a lime wedge and dip the glass into a saucer of flaky sea salt. Just tap off the excess before you pour in your mocktail.
Tips for the best Margarita Mocktail
Making a Margarita mocktail recipe that’s perfect for you is very subjective. Some like it tangy, and others prefer it sweet, so here are our top tips for making it just so:
To chill: when making your Margarita mocktail, you’ll still need to shake it up with ice just like a boozy one for a good 15 seconds. This gives the chill factor and blends all the ingredients well.
To sweeten: using freshly squeezed juices will deliver a sweeter drink, but if the lime and lemon are still too snappy for you, up your orange juice or add a little extra agave to taste.
To look the part: always use kosher or sea salt for your Marg’s classic salty rim. Avoid table or fine salt as it’s too intense. Add a little lime, lemon, or orange zest to the salt for extra tang and color.
To spice it up: for a spicy kick, muddle a few jalapeño slices with your olive brine and agave before you mix in your juices. Add a pinch of chili flakes to your salt, or try a tangy tajin rim to garnish your Margarita mocktail recipe.
To serve your whole squad: this recipe scales up easily so you can serve a crowd. Prepare your freshly squeezed juices up to 4 hours in advance, and make sure to chill them well. Add the soda last minute before serving.
To get bitter: for a more tangy flavor, switch the soda for tonic water to give a deeper bitter taste to your drink.
Tonic water or sparkling water?
Cocktail purists will choose tonic over sparkling or soda water, mostly. Both drinks have the fizz, which is a key building block of a mocktail or cocktail as it gives it texture. The difference is tonic water is slightly sweetened and has quinine, which gives it a bitter tang. Sparkling water or soda water can seem a little two-dimensional in a drink compared to tonic, unless you have a magic ingredient like olive brine, which adds that nuance of flavor without adding sugar. We’ll let you decide.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Our Margarita mocktail recipe is super simple to whip together. It’s a matter of shaking freshly squeezed lime, lemon and orange juice with a little olive brine over ice. You can sweeten it with a little agave nectar and top it up with some soda water for a little fizz.
A virgin Margarita is a mocktail made without tequila and orange liqueur. Our recipe is made up with a trio of citrus juices instead, sweetened with agave nectar and given a little tang with olive brine.
A Margarita mocktail is just as refreshingly delicious as its boozy counterpart and is a great way to get a similar flavor profile without alcohol.
In our Margarita, tequila is replaced with a mix of citrus juices, which gives the tequila kick without the alcohol. A Margarita typically includes Grand Marnier, which is a bitter orange liqueur, so the mocktail version includes a squeeze of orange juice and olive brine to give it that bitter funk.
Although there are non-alcoholic tequilas hitting the market, you can achieve the same flavor profile when you mix together good measure of lemon and lime juice to create that fresh tangy taste that has a warm bite.
