Grand Margarita
A Grand Margarita is 45ml blanco tequila, 30ml Grand Marnier and 15ml fresh lime juice, shaken hard and strained over fresh ice in a rocks glass rimmed with sea salt, with a lime wheel on the rim. It is a Margarita with Grand Marnier in place of triple sec. The measures are the IBA’s, and the drink comes to about 3.0 UK units. Grand Marnier is an orange liqueur built on cognac rather than neutral spirit. It brings oak, vanilla and dried fruit with the orange, so the drink comes out rounder and deeper than a classic Margarita, and less sharp. The ratio follows from that. The IBA Margarita is 50ml tequila, 20ml triple sec and 15ml lime; here the liqueur rises to 30ml, so the cognac registers against the tequila. It suits anyone who finds a Margarita too tart.
Glassware: Rocks Glass
Garnish: Half salt rim of flaky sea salt and Lime wheel on the rim
Ingredients
45ml
Blanco, 100% agave, as the IBA asks. Mixto tequila may be up to 49% other sugars and brings a harsh edge the orange cannot cover. Blanco’s pepper and green agave push against the Grand Marnier’s oak.
30ml
Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge, orange with cognac, at 40% ABV. The cognac adds oak, vanilla and dried fruit, which is what separates this drink from a classic Margarita.
15ml
Squeezed the same day, ideally to order. It is the only acid in the drink, set against 75ml of spirit and liqueur.
Instructions
Squeeze the lime juice the same day, ideally just before you build.
Run a lime wedge around half the outside rim of a rocks glass and roll that half in flaky sea salt.
Fill the glass with fresh cubed ice.
Add the tequila, Grand Marnier and lime juice to a shaker.
Fill the shaker with cubed ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.
Strain into the prepared glass and garnish with a lime wheel on the rim.
Source: the IBA (Official IBA specification, with half the rim salted where the IBA salts it all; method ours). Last checked 9 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Salt half the rim before you build, and let it set. Run a lime wedge round half the outside edge and roll that half in flaky sea salt; salt on the inside of the rim falls into the drink. Squeeze the lime the same day. There are three ingredients and 15ml of lime is the only acid, so stale juice shows at once. Strain over fresh ice. The shaking ice is wet and broken, and in the glass it melts quickly and thins the drink.
Behind the Grand Margarita
Flavour Profile
Grand Marnier and Triple Sec
Both are orange liqueurs, built on different bases.
Triple sec, with Cointreau as the reference, is sweet and bitter orange peel on a neutral spirit: clean and bright. Grand Marnier blends orange with cognac, which brings oak, vanilla and dried fruit. In a Margarita that turns the liqueur from a bright sweetener into a second spirit, adding body where Cointreau adds lift.
Neither is better. They make different drinks, and the IBA treats the Grand Margarita as a cocktail of its own rather than a variation.
Margarita, Grand Margarita and Tommy’s Margarita compared
Margarita (IBA)
- Spec
- 50ml tequila, 20ml triple sec, 15ml lime
- Strength
- About 2.8 UK units
- Character
- Sharp, bright, agave-led
Grand Margarita (IBA)
- Spec
- 45ml tequila, 30ml Grand Marnier, 15ml lime
- Strength
- About 3.0 UK units
- Character
- Rounder, with oak and dried fruit
Tommy’s Margarita
- Spec
- 60ml tequila, 30ml lime, 30ml agave syrup
- Strength
- About 2.4 UK units
- Character
- No liqueur; tequila and lime in front
| Drink | Spec | Strength | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margarita (IBA) | 50ml tequila, 20ml triple sec, 15ml lime | About 2.8 UK units | Sharp, bright, agave-led |
| Grand Margarita (IBA) | 45ml tequila, 30ml Grand Marnier, 15ml lime | About 3.0 UK units | Rounder, with oak and dried fruit |
| Tommy’s Margarita | 60ml tequila, 30ml lime, 30ml agave syrup | About 2.4 UK units | No liqueur; tequila and lime in front |
The Salt Rim
The IBA salts the rim of the rocks glass before the drink is built. Salt dulls bitterness and lifts sweetness, which is why it works against agave and lime.
Use flaky sea salt: the crystals are larger and dissolve more slowly than table salt. Salt only the outside of the rim, so none falls into the drink.
Half a rim leaves each sip salted or not, by choice, which suits anyone whose taste you do not know.
The Tequila
The IBA asks for 100% agave tequila.
Mixto tequila is allowed to be up to 49% other sugars, and it brings a harsh edge that no orange liqueur hides. Blanco, unaged, vegetal and peppery, pushes against the Grand Marnier’s oak. A reposado makes a softer drink in which the barrel notes on both sides blur.
At 45ml in a 90ml drink, before dilution, the tequila is half the glass.
How to Serve It
Rimmed first, shaken hard for 10 to 12 seconds, and strained over fresh ice in the prepared rocks glass, with a lime wheel on the rim.
Shake with plenty of cubed ice for a cold drink and a controlled dilution, and leave the shaking ice behind.
Serve it at once, before the fresh ice starts to thin it.
If you keep one orange liqueur, keep Cointreau: it makes the classic Margarita and more drinks besides. Grand Marnier is the second bottle, and this is the drink that shows what it adds.
Make it at home
The Spirit
Grand MarnierGrand Marnier Cordon Rouge is French cognac combined with a distilled bitter-orange liqueur and sugar, at 40% ABV. It is a liqueur rather than a brandy, though the cognac shows: it is amber and heavier than a triple sec. Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle created it in 1880; we use it as the orange in the Grand Margarita and the top layer of the B-52.
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Grand Margarita?
How is Grand Marnier different from triple sec?
Is Grand Marnier a brandy?
How does the ratio compare with a Margarita?
Should the whole rim be salted?
How strong is a Grand Margarita?
Blanco or reposado tequila?
Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 11 October 2026