Bar Necessities
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New Era Drinks IBA Official IBA

Grand Margarita

Margarita with a passport

Glass Coupe
Method Shaken
Garnish Lime Wheel

The upscale Margarita variant that swaps triple sec for Grand Marnier, adding rich orange depth and a velvety body. Refined but still punchy.

Ingredients

Method

Add tequila, Grand Marnier, and fresh lime juice to a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously until well chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Popularized by the El Torito Grill restaurant chain (Southern California) in the 1980s — uses Grand Marnier in place of the standard triple sec, deepening the Margarita with orange and cognac notes. Per IBA (New Era list); Difford's Guide #889. Notes: contemporary variant with no single documented creator; authentic source preparation is shaken (not floated).

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