Last Updated on August 1, 2022 by laurenpacek
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This Italian Margarita is a fun, sweet twist on the classic margarita cocktail. The addition of Amaretto gives this marg a rich rich sweetness.
The Italian Margarita was made famous by the ubiquitous Italian-ish chain restaurant: Olive Garden. Italian Margaritas require only a handful of ingredients and take just a couple of minutes to shake up. If you love margaritas and Amaretto liqueur, you'll love these drinks.
Table of contents
What is an Italian Margarita?
An Italian Margarita is a fun, sweet twist on the classic margarita cocktail. However, instead of (or in addition to, as is the case with this recipe) orange liqueur, Amaretto liqueur is used.
Ingredients
- Tequila: I used reposado tequila, but use whatever variety you prefer.
- Amaretto: Amaretto is an Italian liqueur that can be made from almonds, apricot pits, peach stones, or bitter almonds, depending upon the brand. I used Disaronno, which, interestingly, tastes like almonds, but isn't actually made from almonds.
- Orange liqueur: Use whatever orange liqueur you prefer. I used triple sec for this drink, as it's what I had on hand.
- Juice: This recipe calls for both lime and lemon juices. Freshly squeezed only, please.
- Garnishes: I rimmed my glasses with granulated sugar and dropped a fresh lime wheel into the drink.
How to make an Italian Margarita
You'll start out by rimming a rocks (or margarita) glass with granulated sugar. To do this, just run a lime wedge around the rim of the glass before running the rim through some sugar.
Plunk a nice big ice cube (or several smaller ice cubes) into the glass. Be careful not to knock any of the sugar off of the rim.
After that, add the tequila, Amaretto, and juices to a cocktail shaker with ice. Give everything a good shake until it's very cold.
Strain the marg into your prepared glass, again being careful to not dislodge any of the sugary rim.
From there, all you have to do is garnish everything with a fresh lime wheel!
Recommended tools
Other margarita recipes
In search of other margarita recipes? Check out the recipes below from A Nerd Cooks and other talented bloggers.
- Pineapple Margaritas from A Nerd Cooks
- Passion Fruit Margaritas from The Gourmet Bon Vivant
- Golden Margaritas from A Nerd Cooks
- Blood Orange Margaritas from Garnish
- Apple Cider Margaritas from A Nerd Cooks
Other Italian cocktail recipes
What about other Italian or Italian-ish cocktails? We got 'em! Peruse the links below and you're sure to find some new favorites.
- Amaretto Sour from The Gourmet Bon Vivant
- Limoncello Spritzes from A Nerd Cooks
- Negroni from Rachel Cooks
- Rossini Cocktail from A Nerd Cooks
- Limoncello Margaritas from A Sassy Spoon
FAQs/Tips and tricks
Sure! Just scale up the ingredients as needed.
I mean, not technically. But I will say that you just can't beat freshly squeezed juice. The flavor is just so much better than anything you'll find pre-squeezed in the store.
Amaretto is an Italian liqueur that's sometimes made from
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The Recipe
Italian Margarita
This Italian Margarita is a fun, sweet twist on the classic margarita cocktail. The addition of Amaretto gives this marg a rich rich sweetness.
Ingredients
- lime wedge
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 ounces tequila
- 1 ounce Amaretto liqueur
- 0.5 ounce orange liqueur
- 0.5 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 0.5 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- lime wheel, for garnish
Instructions
- Run a lime wedge around the rim of a rocks glass and dip it into the granulated sugar
- Add a large ice cube to the prepared glass
- Add the tequila, Amaretto, orange liqueur, and juices to a cocktail shaker with ice
- Shake until very cold
- Strain into the prepared glass
- Garnish the margarita with a lime wheel
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 342Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 10mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 4gSugar: 22gProtein: 1g
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