Margarita Soda
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 9.9% ABV ∙
A Margarita Soda is a tall, tequila-based highball that lengthens a classic Margarita — tequila, lime, agave, and bitters — with soda water. Crisp and effervescent, with a tart edge softened by silky sweetness, finishing clean and dry against a salt-rimmed sip.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Rim the glass with salt
- Shake the first 4 ingredients with ice: Tequila blanco 45 mlLime juice 20 mlAgave syrup 15 mlAngostura aromatic bitters 2 dashes
- Strain into the ice-filled glass while pouring in Soda water 75 ml
- Garnish with a lime wedge
Tips
- Use a fresh, well-chilled bottle of soda water; flat soda leaves the drink tasting syrupy instead of crisp.
- Strain the shaken mix into the ice-filled glass before adding the soda water, so the fizz doesn't get beaten out in the shaker.
- Rim only half the glass with salt so drinkers can adjust each sip between salty and clean.
History
The Margarita Soda is a modern highball riff created by Tony Milici, then beverage director, and Ben Howell at Hellbender, a bar in Ridgewood, Queens. It builds on a Tommy's Margarita, the tequila-lime-agave variation popularized at Tommy's Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco, but lengthens it with a topper of club soda, turning the cocktail into a lower-proof, effervescent highball that lets the tequila and lime read more sharply.
The Margarita itself has no single confirmed origin: competing accounts credit bartenders and hostesses including Carlos "Danny" Herrera in Tijuana in 1938, Margarita Sames in Acapulco in 1948, and Francisco "Pancho" Morales in Ciudad Juárez in 1942, among others, and its documented lineage traces further back to the Tequila Daisy of the early 1900s-1930s. The name first appeared in print in a 1953 issue of Esquire.
FAQ
What is a Margarita Soda?
It is a tall, lower-proof variation on the Margarita, shaken with tequila blanco and fresh lime juice, then strained into a salt-rimmed, ice-filled Collins glass and topped with soda water. Garnished with a lime wedge, it comes in at about 9.9% ABV, noticeably lighter than a standard Margarita.
How do you make a Margarita with soda?
Shake tequila blanco, fresh lime juice, agave syrup, and Angostura bitters with ice, strain into an ice-filled, salt-rimmed Collins glass, then top with soda water and garnish with a lime wedge. Adding the soda after straining keeps it fizzy instead of flattening it in the shaker.
What is a tequila soda?
A tequila soda is simply tequila lengthened with soda water over ice, usually with a citrus garnish and little else. This build goes further, shaking the tequila with lime juice and other ingredients before topping with soda, giving it the tart, sweetened profile of a Margarita rather than a plain spirit-and-soda highball.
What is the 3-2-1 rule for Margaritas?
The 3-2-1 rule is a classic ratio guideline of 3 parts tequila, 2 parts orange liqueur, and 1 part lime juice, used to balance a standard Margarita. This build departs from that formula, using agave syrup and Angostura bitters instead of orange liqueur, and lengthening the drink with soda water rather than serving it up.
What are common Margarita mistakes?
The most common mistakes are using bottled lime juice instead of fresh, over-pouring the sweetener so it masks the tequila, and shaking any soda or sparkling ingredient into the drink, which kills its fizz. Always add carbonated components after straining, and taste-adjust the lime and agave since limes vary in acidity.
