Made with fresh fruit juice, tequila, and club soda, this Italian Margarita recipe is perfect for when you're craving a sweeter and fizzier pick me up. Garnish with more fresh fruit and rosemary to make it complete!
Jump To
About this Margarita
My boyfriend Jack and I recently tried out a new Italian restaurant in the heart of Midtown for my 24th birthday dinner. (Serena Pacifico for you Atlanta locals!) In addition to ordering bottles of wine, we also tried the Italian Margarita.
And let me tell you—it’s one of the best cocktails I’ve had in quite some time! I was so hooked that I found myself googling their menu and figuring out how I could create it for you guys here on the blog.
What's the difference between and Italian and regular margarita? Italian Margaritas are made with grapefruit juice and zesty aperol, which adds a sweeter and bitterer taste. Regular margaritas are typically made with a tangier orange liquor and sometimes sour mix.
Made with fresh fruit juice, tequila, and club soda, this Italian Margarita with Aperol is perfect for when you're craving a sweeter and fizzier pick me up. Garnish with more fresh fruit and rosemary to make it complete! Enjoy with a Prosciutto and Fig Pizza and you've got a complete restaurant meal at home.
Or if you're looking for more margarita recipes, also check out this Spicy Orange Margarita, this Banana Margarita, or this Skinny Jalapeño Margarita that I'm sure you'll love, too!
Recipe Ingredients
- Tequila: No need for a specific brand. Use your favorite! I do suggest silver tequila, however.
- Aperol: Italian bitters for an Italian margarita! This is what will give your margarita the beautiful orange color.
- Triple Sec: You can also use orange liquor. A classic margarita ingredient.
- Blood Orange: Use this to squeeze fresh juice into your margarita and to create dried oranges for garnish. You can also use a regular orange or grapefruit.
- Club Soda: For some fizz! Tonic or another bubbly seltzer would also work.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make This Recipe
1. Slice a lime wedge and use it to rim your cocktail glass. Then, dip rim in salt or sugar.
2. In a cocktail shaker, shake vigorously tequila, aperol, triple sec, and the juice of ½ a lime. Fill your glass with ice and pour in alcohol.
3. Using a handheld juicer, extract juice out of ¼ of a fresh blood orange. Then, add to glass. Note: You may need to cut the orange into smaller pieces to fit it into the juicer. Fill remainder of the cocktail glass with club soda.
4. Stir gently. Top off with an extra squirt of lime if desired and garnish with rosemary and an orange slice. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Don't shake your club soda in your cocktail shaker. It will explode everywhere! Just pour it in the glass at the end. Read this post for more of my mixology tips!
Traditionally, margaritas are made with tequila. However, you could substitute vodka, gin, or even rum in this recipe instead. This is an Italian Marg so might as well change everything up!
Nowadays, there are so many different flavors of salt. I currently have this Truffle Honey Salt in my pantry and I’m digging it with cocktails. But I also like a simple lime sea salt like this one.
One of my favorite things about ordering a cocktail at a restaurant is seeing how they garnish them. Maybe it's just the designer in me. 😂 I think it truly elevates the customer experience, and in this day and age, an "Instagram worthy" cocktail is a winner!
You can really make this Italian Margarita something special (in my opinion) by garnishing it with dried orange slices. I recommend making these in advance as they can take quite a long time. However, this cocktail will still taste fabulous with fresh fruit as well!
If you want to try making your own dried orange slices, you'll also need a wire rack and baking pan. Follow this process:
1. Preheat oven to 200°F.
2. Finely slice oranges. Keep in mind that the thinner the slice, the shorter the dehydrating time.
3. Place a wire rack on top of a baking pan and place your orange slices on top. Do not overlap any slices.
4. Bake for 3-6 hours depending on how thick your slices are. Flip 2-3 times while cooking to ensure each side dries out.
More Recipes You'll Love
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & if you really like the recipe consider leaving a comment further down. Thanks for visiting!
Recipe
Italian Margarita
Equipment
- Jigger
- Cocktail glass
- Cocktail shaker
- Cocktail stirrer
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Handheld juicer
Ingredients
- 1 lime
- salt or sugar, for garnish
- 1 oz tequila
- 1 oz Aperol
- 1 oz triple sec, or orange liquor
- ice
- ¼ blood orange, or grapefruit
- ¼-½ cup club soda
- 1 sprig rosemary, for garnish
- 1 slice dried orange, for garnish
Instructions
- Slice a lime wedge and use it to rim your cocktail glass. Then, dip rim in salt or sugar.
- In a cocktail shaker, shake together tequila, aperol, triple sec, and the juice of ½ a lime.
- Fill your glass with ice. Pour in alcohol.
- Using a handheld juicer, extract juice out of ¼ of a fresh blood orange. Then, add to glass. Note: You may need to cut the orange into smaller pieces to fit it into the juicer.
- Fill remainder of the cocktail glass with club soda.
- Stir gently. Top off with an extra squirt of lime if desired and garnish with rosemary and an orange slice.
- Serve immediately! (And leave all the ingredients out because you will be making another!)
Nutrition
Notes
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you're using MyFitnessPal, search 'A Paige Of Positivity' and find Italian Margarita calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
NOTE: this is counting the alcohol as strictly carbs - remember, if you are counting your macros & alcohol, this is a good reference: Macrostax | How To Calculate Alcohol for Macro Counting
TO COUNT YOUR ALCOHOL AS A CARBOHYDRATE: Use the total number of calories in a drink divided by 4 (Example: 5 ounces of Red Zinfandel = 132 calories 132 calories/4 = 33g Carbs. TO COUNT YOUR ALCOHOL AS A FAT: Use the total number of calories in a drink divided by 9 (Example: 5 ounces of Red Zinfandel = 132 calories 132 calories/9 = 15g Fat) TO COUNT YOUR ALCOHOL AS BOTH A CARBOHYDRATE AND A FAT: Use the a portion of the total number of calories in a drink divided by 4 Use the remainder of the total number of calories in a drink divided by 9. Example: 5 ounces of Red Zinfandel = 132 calories 66 calories/4 = 16.5g Carbs 66 calories/9 = 7g Fat
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
Brooke says
This Marg was a lovely twist on 2 fantastic drinks. While sweet and refreshing, the tequila still packs its punch! She’s done it again!
Sydney says
So I know how easy it is to just crack open a seltzer when you’re wanting a refreshing drink, but I promise you these margs are sooooo worth the effort. The Italian version of a marg is such a fun twist and Courtney makes plenty of suggestions for customizing it to your preferences. Try these!!!
Sara says
These were so easy & so yummy! The rosemary adds the perfect touch. Definitely my go to cocktail now 🙂
Courtney Paige says
YESS, Sara!! Delicious and simple.
Piper Johnson says
Absolutely amazing. I made this Italian margarita the other night and it was a hit! SO refreshing and easy to make; I cannot recommend this cocktail enough! 🙂
Courtney Paige says
I love the presentation! Thank you for the review XO
Courtney Paige says
YURM! I had this at a restaurant recently and this recipe is even BETTER!