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1
Fill a cocktail shaker or lidded jar with cracked ice.
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2
Squeeze the juice from the lime into the container and then rub the lime half around the rim of an 8-ounce glass.
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3
Place a thin layer of salt on a saucer and dip the lime-rubbed glass into the salt.
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4
Shake off excess salt to leave only a light sprinkling on the rim of the glass.
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5
Pour the tequila and Cointreau into the container with the ice and lime juice and shake to blend.
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6
Strain the margarita into the prepared glass and serve.
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7
Regional Variations: The typical margarita proportions are 3 parts tequila to 1 part lime juice and 1 to 2 parts orange-flavored liqueur, usually Cointreau or Triple Sec.
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8
From that starting point, the troops depart in all directions.
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9
Some people alter the ratios in favor of the tequila or lime juice, some like it frozen or on the rocks instead of up, and some have a strong preference for either the pure taste of silver tequila or the rich body of the gold variety.
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10
Cookbook author Jane Butel, founder of the Albuquerque cooking school that bears her name, adds part of an egg white for a little froth.
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11
The most unusual variations change the liqueur, substituting Curacao perhaps to make a blue margarita, or they combine another fruit flavor, from cranberry to prickly pear, with the Cointreau or Triple Sec.
