This delightfully refreshing margarita is a traditional recipe with a minty, cucumber twist! It’s not too sweet, not too sour, it has a delicately salted rim and it’s muddled to perfection. A perfect pool-party signature cocktail!
This is my husband’s official favorite cocktail. I spent quite some time trying to make a margarita exactly the way he likes it, and when I finally got the measurements perfect, it was time to turn it up a notch!
Mint and cucumber make just about any cocktail more refreshing and summery, and you don’t need much to make this one simply divine.
I have a few favorite cucumber cocktails like this sparkling pink grapefruit cocktail with cucumber or this honeydew & cucumber white sangria, but I like them mostly for brunches or early afternoons.
This cucumber mint margarita is a late afternoon and evening cocktail, for sure. Because if you’re anything like me, it just takes one or two, and it’s already last call.
A Few Tips:
1. Cointreau or Grand Marnier is best!
This recipe calls for Cointreau, but generally, you can also use triple sec or Grand Marnier as the orange liqueur in a margarita. Fun fact! Cointreau is actually a kind of triple sec liqueur, but there’s a BIG difference between this liqueur and an inexpensive, generic triple sec: It tastes MUCH better.
Some inexpensive triple sec brands really taste like orange cough syrup, so if you consider yourself a margarita connoisseur, stick to Cointreau. Or use Grand Marnier if you want to make it a “Cadillac” cucumber mint margarita.
2. Strain the muddled cucumber and mint before shaking with ice.
Unlike a mojito, you don’t want the muddled mint and cucumber in this cocktail. You want to muddle vigorously, but don’t want all those tiny cucumber and mint pieces floating around.
So be sure to strain the cocktail, remove the mint and cucumber, then add ice and shake.
3. To make it a little sweeter…
If you like a little more sweetness in your margarita, add ½ tsp. agave nectar or ½ oz. simple syrup. You can also add a tiny bit more Cointreau to tilt it to the sweeter side.
To Make a Perfectly Salted Rim:
Run a lime or lemon slice around the edge of your glass and dip the edges into kosher salt, sprinkled on a plate. Make sure to only use a flaky salt like kosher salt instead of table salt.
Enjoy this tasty cucumber mint margarita!
Help yourself to more tasty summer cocktail inspiration!
- The Simple Lemon Drop Cocktail
- The Pink Cherry Blossom Maraschino Liqueur Cocktail
- Spicy Ginger Pineapple Punch
- The “Hawaiian Bonfire” Spicy Pineapple Cocktail
And for more inspiration, follow me on INSTAGRAM @shekeepsalovelyhome, on PINTEREST and FACEBOOK! And if you ever make any of my tasty drinks or treats, take a picture and tag me. I want to see!
Cucumber Mint Margarita
Equipment
- cocktail shaker
- Spare glass or shaker
- muddler
- Cocktail jigger
- Glass
Ingredients
- 2 oz. silver tequila
- 1 oz. lime juice - fresh
- 1 oz. Cointreu
For the Garnish
- 3 slices cucumber
- 1 sprig mint
Instructions
- Prepare your glass with a salted rim.
- Add 2 oz. silver tequila to a shaker with mint and cucumber. Muddle. Strain tequila into a spare glass and remove the muddled cucumber and mint. Return the tequila to the shaker with ice, and add 1oz. lime juice and 1 oz. Cointreau. Shake vigorously.
- Pour margarita with ice into prepared glass and serve.
Notes
If you like a little more sweetness in your margarita, add ½ tsp. agave nectar or ½ oz. simple syrup. You can also add a tiny bit more Cointreau.
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