Cherry Margarita
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 24.2% ABV ∙
A Cherry Margarita is a shaken tequila reposado sour built with cherry liqueur, maraschino liqueur, and fresh lime, served over ice. Tart lime hits first, then dark cherry and a marzipan-like maraschino sweetness settle in, finishing dry with a faint salty edge.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Rim the glass with salt
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Tequila reposado 45 mlCherry liqueur 15 mlMaraschino liqueur 10 mlLime juice 15 mlSaline solution 1 dash
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Garnish with a lime wedge
Tips
- Shake all liquids hard with fresh ice for 12-15 seconds to properly dilute and chill this spirit-forward mix of reposado, cherry liqueur and maraschino.
- Strain over a single large cube in the old-fashioned glass rather than crushed ice, so the drink stays cold without diluting too fast.
- Squeeze lime juice fresh just before shaking; bottled juice flattens the balance against the two liqueurs' sweetness.
History
The Cherry Margarita is a fruited variation on the Margarita, a tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice cocktail whose own origin is disputed among several competing claims. The most frequently cited account credits Carlos "Danny" Herrera, owner of the Rancho La Gloria restaurant near Tijuana, with mixing the drink in 1938 for showgirl Marjorie King, who could tolerate only tequila among spirits. Other bartenders have made rival claims, including Santos Cruz at Galveston's Balinese Room, Don Carlos Orozco at Hussong's Cantina in Ensenada in 1941, and Francisco "Pancho" Morales in Ciudad Juárez in 1942, while Dallas socialite Margarita Sames is said to have served it to guests in Acapulco in 1948. Cocktail historians also trace an earlier ancestor: an English-language recipe called the Picador, matching the same tequila, orange liqueur, and lime proportions, appeared in the 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book, and a 1936 newspaper account describes a bartender in Tijuana stumbling onto a tequila version of the Daisy (margarita being Spanish for "daisy") by grabbing the wrong bottle. The Cherry Margarita takes this base formula and adds cherry liqueur, giving the classic sour a fruited, deeper-colored twist.
FAQ
What is in a cherry margarita?
Tequila reposado, cherry liqueur, maraschino liqueur, and fresh lime juice, shaken and served over ice in an old-fashioned glass. A dash of saline solution stands in for a salt rim, seasoning the drink without coating the glass edge.
What is the 321 rule for margaritas?
The 3-2-1 rule is a classic ratio guide of 3 parts tequila, 2 parts orange liqueur, and 1 part lime juice, used as a quick way to balance a basic Margarita. This build departs from that template: it swaps the orange liqueur for cherry and maraschino liqueurs alongside the tequila and lime, so the 3-2-1 proportions do not apply directly.
What's the best garnish for a cherry margarita?
A lime wedge is the garnish used here, giving a fresh citrus hit alongside the cherry sweetness with every sip. A fresh or cocktail cherry dropped in the glass is a popular alternative if you want the fruit visible as well as tasted.
Is a cherry margarita shaken or stirred?
Shaken. The lime juice and liqueurs need the aeration and quick chill of a hard shake; stirring would leave the drink flat and under-diluted.
What glass is a cherry margarita served in?
An old-fashioned glass, built over ice rather than served up in a coupe or cocktail glass.
What's the secret to a great margarita?
Balance: fresh lime juice, a good tequila, and a matched sweetener kept in proportion so no single element dominates. In this build that means measuring the cherry and maraschino liqueurs as carefully as the lime, since both are sweet enough to bury the tequila if over-poured.
