Looking to shake up a refreshing Yuzu Margarita at home?
Our quick & easy Yuzu Margarita recipe features premium tequila, honey lemon yuzu lemonade, fresh lime juice, and orange liqueur.
The thirst quenching drink is best enjoyed on a hot summer day, offering a blissful balance of Japanese citrus and Mexico’s beloved agave spirit.
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What Is A Yuzu Margarita?
Yuzu is a citrus fruit of East Asian origin.
It resembles a small grapefruit with uneven skin and can be either yellow or green depending on the degree of ripeness.
In Japan, yuzu is a common ingredient in local cuisine, where the aromatic zest and the juice are used much in the same way that lemons are used in other cuisines. The yuzu’s flavour is tart and fragrant, closely resembling that of the grapefruit, with overtones of mandarin orange.
It is an integral ingredient in the citrus-based sauce ponzu, and yuzu vinegar is also produced. Yuzu is often combined with honey to make yuzu hachimitsu, a type of syrup that is used to make yuzu tea, or as an ingredient in cocktails such as the yuzu mojito.
There are many different ways you can make a Yuzu Margarita at home. You simply need to use the core ingredients of the famous Mexican cocktail (lime, tequila, orange liqueur) with the addition of yuzu flavour. The easiest way to make the drink is to substitute lime juice with freshly squeezed yuzu.
Fresh yuzu can be hard to find so we like to use President’s Choice Honey Yuzu Lemonade. You can also use other yuzu flavoured cocktail mixers like Yuzu Juice, Yuzukko Lemonade, Fever-Tree Sparkling Lime & Yuzu or Yuzu Marmalade.
Ingredients
This refreshing Yuzu Margarita recipe is best served in a handsome ice-filled rocks glass.
- Tequila: we suggest using Jose Cuervo Reposado.
- President’s Choice Honey Yuzu Lemonade: a store bought lemonade flavoured with yuzu that adds additional sweetness to the drink.
- Lime Juice: only use freshly squeezed lime juice, you can taste the difference!
- Orange Liqueur: add additional citrus flavour to the drink by adding Triple Sec or Cointreau.
Instructions
This tequila recipe is so easy to make at home, ready to serve in under 5 minutes!
- PREPARE THE GLASS: Begin by preparing your cocktail glass. If desired, you can fill each rocks glass with ice to ensure they are well chilled.
- POUR & SHAKE: Fill an ice-filled cocktail shaker with tequila, Cointreau, yuzu lemonade and fresh lime juice. Shake for 30-45 seconds until well chilled.
- GARNISH & SERVE: Decorate the rim of the glass with a dehydrated lime wheel or fresh lime wedge.
Full instructions are in the recipe card below.
Yuzu Margarita Cocktail Recipe Tips
- We suggest serving this margarita recipe in a rocks glass. If you’re looking to sip a larger serving feel free to use a Collins glass.
- While you can use a standard blanco tequila, you can level up the drink by substituting with a more flavourful (and expensive) aged reposado or añejo tequila.
- If you like a smoky flavour in your drink substitute tequila with a quality Mezcal.
- Our recipe serves one person. If you’re hosting a large gathering feel free to multiply the ingredients by the number of guests and muddle the drink in a festive punch bowl or jug rather than a cocktail shaker.
- An hour or two before you’re planning on serving drinks we suggest placing the tequila and liqueur bottle in your freezer so it’s well chilled.
- If you find the drink too boozy, sweet or spicy feel free to add a splash of soda to mellow it out.
- Jazz up the drink when company is coming by adding a salt rim to each glass like you would a classic margarita. Wipe the ripe of each glass with a lime slice, invert and then shimmy into a shallow dish filled with kosher salt.
Best Tequila Brands
Tequila is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila 65 km northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands of the central western Mexican state of Jalisco.
The red volcanic soils in the region of Tequila are perfectly suited for growing blue agave, with more than 300 million plants harvested there each year.
Blue agaves grown in the highlands Los Altos region are larger and sweeter in aroma and taste. Agaves harvested in the valley region have a more herbaceous fragrance and flavour. Terroir plays an important role in production, similar to cultivating fine wine.
We recommend sipping a variety of tequila brands in order to find your favourite. Each distillery has a unique method for harvesting agave, distilling and aging & barreling the final product.
Here are the world’s top selling brands worthy of being muddled into a homemade Yuzu Margarita:
Best Bartender Tools & Cocktail Equipment
Before hosting a fun Yuzu Margarita soiree you’ll need to ensure you have the best bartender tools and cocktail equipment.
- Cocktail Kit: cocktail kits are the perfect gift for newbie mixology fans as they include basic bartender tools like a jigger, shaker and spoon.
- Cocktail Shaker: a bartender’s best friend. Purchase a premium cocktail shaker to muddle or shake up your favourite pink gin cocktails.
- Cocktail Glassware: make sure your bar is stocked with a selection of unique glassware to show off your favourite cocktail creations.
- Hawthorne Strainer: this unique strainer features tightly wound coils and perforated holes. It keeps ice and other large ingredients like lime wedges in your cocktail shaker rather than in the glass.
- Bar Spoons: slender and long bar spoons are a must-have when stirring drinks.
- Bottle Opener: easily open bottles of beer or cider with the flick of your wrist or purchase a corkscrew for fine wine.
- Pouring Spout: once you’ve opened a new bottle of gin insert these affordable pourers to make cocktail assembly a breeze.
- Cutting Board: purchase a petite cutting board for your bar to slice garnishes or citrus wedges like lime, orange, lemon or grapefruit.
- Ice Bucket: chill bottles of gin quickly in an ice bucket or keep by the bar when muddling gin mixers into cool creations.
- Ice Crusher: fans of the Mint Julep love an ice crusher.
- Ice Cube Kit: we suggest purchasing a selection of ice cube trays. Silicone styles are our favourite as they’re easy to clean and are available in various shapes and sizes.
- Jigger: use a jigger to accurately measure spirits, juices, syrups and shrubs.
- Juicer: invest in an electronic juicer or buy an affordable hand-held to easily juice fresh citrus like lemons and limes.
- Muddler: fans of the Mojito love a sturdy muddler to mix mint and lime. Muddler’s are handy for any cocktail featuring ingredients that need a pounding like fresh herbs or citrus wedges.
- Citrus Peeler & Zester: adorn your craft cocktails with a thick citrus peel or finer ribbons of lime or lemon zest.
- Rimmer: Bloody Mary and Caesar lovers should outfit their bar with a handy rimmer for salting and sugaring glassware.
When To Serve A Yuzu Margarita
This refreshing 4-ingredient cocktail can be enjoyed any time of year. Here are some fun ideas on when to serve the crowd-pleasing drink:
- Happy hour drink served alongside snacks like roasted nuts, olives and cheese.
- Easy guys or girls night beverage
- Pre-drink at home before meeting friends at your local bar
- A refreshing sipper served on a hot summer day at a backyard barbecue
- Dinner party cocktail served with your favourite Mexican dishes like Gazpacho Moreliano, Chipotle Roasted Potatoes, Tostadas de Tinga, Tostadas de Camaron, Pastel Azteca, Dry Roasted Salsa Mexicana, Chicken Pork & Shrimp Mexican Paella, Asado de Boda or Albondigas al Chipotle.
You May Also Enjoy These Tequila Recipes…
- Tequila Ginger Ale Cocktail
- St Germain Elderflower Margarita
- Division Bell Mezcal Aperol Cocktail
- Mexican Mojito Diablo Cocktail
- Grand Marnier Golden Margarita Cocktail
- Passion Fruit Margarita Cocktail
- Mexican Mezcal Mule Cocktail
- Spicy Mezcal Margarita Jalapeño Cocktail
- Tequila Smash Cocktail
- Aperol Tequila Cocktail
- 1800 Tequila Margarita
- Long Beach Iced Tea Cocktail
How To Make A Yuzu Margarita
Yuzu Margarita Cocktail
Equipment
- Jigger
- Rocks glass
- Cocktail Shaker
- Ice
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Tequila
- 0.75 oz Cointreau or Triple Sec
- 2 oz Honey Yuzu Lemonade
- 0.25 oz Lime Juice
Instructions
- Combine the tequila, cointreau, honey yuzu lemonade and lime juice in an ice-filled cocktail shaker.
- Shake vigorously for 30-45 seconds until chilled.
- Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and serve with a dehydrated citrus wheel.
Nutrition
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love yuzu!