Our Guide to the Best Margaritas at Home

National Margarita Day is Sunday, February 22, so we’re getting you prepped to celebrate accordingly. I’m a margarita fanatic. I’ve never met a Margarita I didn’t love, from those pricey craft Margs made with freshly squeezed lime juice and simple syrup to the two-for-one bargain Margs made with well tequila and sour mix. All Margaritas are valid! But my buds who do the taste testing here at Sporked are equally enthusiastic but a little more discerning. They’ve taste tested Margarita mixes, premade Margaritas, and even bottles of cheap tequila to find all the best stuff for Margaritas at home—because celebrating National Margarita Day doesn’t have to involve an $80 bar tab.

Videos by Sporked

And hey, Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner. No time like the present to start preparing. Cheers!

Best Margarita Mix: Kirkland Signature Premium Margarita Cocktail Mix

The main benefit of buying your Margarita mix at Costco is that it’s damn good. The secondary benefit is that you get two gigantic 1.75L bottles at once, so there’s a chance you’ll have enough Margarita mix to make it to next National Margarita Day (unless you’re really going for it—no shame!).

Read the full ranking of the best Margarita mix

Best Cheap Tequila: Cazadores Blanco Tequila

Now we need some tequila to spike that mix. An affordable tequila that still tastes amazing is the way to go. With its tropical aroma and mellow, zesty bitterness, Cazadores Blanco tequila is versatile and you can find it for less than $20 a bottle. TBH, this would be really good in Palomas too, so grab some grapefruit juice while you’re at it to mix things up.

Read the full ranking of the best cheap tequila

Best Faux Tequila: Clean Co Tequila Alternative

Fact: Your sober friends are probably sick of being served “NA Margaritas” that are nothing but Margarita mix and ice. They’re sorely missing that deep tequila flavor if you try to cut corners. There’s no corner cutting here. Clean Co Tequila Alternative has a real agave taste that they’ll love even without any alcohol in the equation.

Read our ranking of the best NA tequila

Best Canned Margarita: Golden Rule Margarita

If mixing Margs is above your pay grade on the weekend, simplify things by just grabbing a 4-pack of these premade, canned Margs instead. Sporked’s Justine Sterling drank a lot of mid canned Margs to find one that rivals a freshly made craft cocktail, but she did it—trust us. It’s balanced, limey, and just sweet enough to satisfy your needs. It’s pretty boozy for a canned bev, too!

Read our ranking of the best premade Margaritas

Best Rimming Salt: Maldon Sea Salt Flakes

Whether you’re mixing your own Margs or you’re just pouring a margarita out of a can, you need a strong finish to tie things together. That would be an enchanting ring of salt on the rim of your glass. Maldon’s sea salt is a classic in its own right so this shouldn’t be a hard sell. The flakes are so light but still crunchy without an overwhelming sea salt taste so you’ll have a nice balance to everything.

Read our ranking of the best flake salt