The classic Margarita has four ingredients, and you don't need a blender. Skip the sweet and sour mix and focus on the core. The Margarita's fame probably comes from the slushy thing served in a comically large glass, but our love is the classic, shaken and served over ice.
Classic Margarita
45ml blanco tequila
15ml triple sec
30ml lime juice
15ml simple syrup
Shake, strain over ice into a salt-rimmed glass, garnish with a lime wedge.
First, the tequila. Two musts: it has to be 100% agave, and it has to be blanco. Blanco is bottled almost straight after distilling, so it's crisp and clean. Some tequilas have added sweeteners and aren't 100% agave. Leave those on the shelf.
Then fresh limes. Not bottled juice, not sweet and sour: fresh limes. Each gives 15 to 30ml depending on ripeness, so grab a few, the greenest and juiciest with no bruises. Then triple sec, a sweet-and-dry orange liqueur. Cointreau or Grand Marnier work too, but we like the original here. Last, simple syrup: one part white sugar to one part water.
Once your core recipe is dialled, play. Swap the salt for smoked salt, the tequila for mezcal, the triple sec for Grand Marnier, or fine-strain it up into a coupe.