Make One Simple Margarita Tweak So You Can Drink Like Jimmy Buffett

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Jimmy Buffett, the man who penned and performed "Margaritaville," the song that put the margarita on the map, clearly knew a thing or two about his signature drink. The 1977 tune helped Buffett create his laid-back, sun-soaked vibe (as well as a multi-million-dollar empire of restaurants, resorts, and products) centered around the classic cocktail. Of course, Buffett had a signature margarita recipe, even though his favorite drink was actually just tequila on the rocks with a lime twist. Even so, his trick to the perfect margarita is swapping aged tequila for the traditional blanco.

If you search the internet, you'll find lots of margarita recipes bearing Buffett's name, but his true version can be found in the brand's official cookbook, "Margaritaville: The Cookbook: Relaxed Recipes for a Taste of Paradise" from 2018. The recipe for the company's house margarita is pretty classic, combining tequila, triple sec, lime juice, and superfine sugar. But aged tequila takes the cocktail from bright and crisp to a bit more complex flavor profile, which can be further tweaked by the choice of tequila.

Jimmy Buffett's margarita recipe calls for aged tequila, but, not surprisingly, suggests using Margaritaville brand gold tequila. The brand's spirit from Jalisco, Mexico, is a gold tequila, but calling it aged is a bit of a stretch since it only briefly spends time in an oak barrel. Still, it's made from 100% blue agave and has tasting notes of apple, pear, agave, and black pepper which deepens the margarita's flavor.

Reposado and añejo tequilas are more rightly considered aged, with reposado resting for a few months and añejo for up to three years. Reposado tequila brings subtle notes of caramel, oak, and vanilla, adding depth to the cocktail, while añejo delivers richer, more pronounced flavors. The only caveat to these is that this style of tequila can overpower other ingredients, so we recommend playing with the measurements to find your perfect combination. 

As any Parrothead worth their salt-rimmed margarita will tell you, Margaritaville isn't a place — in Buffett's own words, "no parallels of latitude or longitude mark the spot exactly ... It's in your mind." And his margarita recipe may well help get you there, at least until you can make it to one of the 27 Margaritaville restaurants that are still left.