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.
How 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.
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.
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
- 3 slices cucumber
- 1 sprig mint
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt – for the rim
Instructions
- Prepare your glass with a salted rim by running a sliced lime around the edge, and dipping into Kosher salt.
- 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.
Peggy Hust
I want to make a gallon of this for a party. Can you give a recipe for a gallon?
Thank you, Peggy Hust
Genevieve Morrison
Hummm… I believe it would be 8 cups (64 ounces) silver tequila, 4 cups (32 ounces) fresh lime juice and 4 cups (32 ounces) Cointreau. I would add 2 cucumbers and 1 bunch of mint to a food processor and coarsely chop. Not puree. Add it to the gallon, stir well, then strain. I’m not very good at math so you may have to double-check my numbers on those cups, but I think that adds up to a gallon 😉 Enjoy!
Cheryl Sousan
so do you use the 3 slices of cucumber and 1 sprig of mint to muddle with the tequila? The recipe ingredients lists those items as garnishes.
Genevieve Morrison
You know what? You’re right, that’s a bit confusing. I changed the recipe to be more clear. Thank you for point that out!
Cheryl S
perfect! thanks so much. I’m running out to get some mint so I can make these today!
Genevieve Morrison
Enjoy! This is one of my favorite margarita recipes!
Joann
So good