On the Border Grande Margarita Copycat Recipe

By Karl Hirsch · TacoTuesday.com · Prep 5 min · Total 5 min · Serves 1

On the Border is a taco chain, which means their margarita has to survive being ordered alongside a plate of enchiladas without falling apart. The Grande is the middle tier on their marg menu – bigger than the house, smaller than the top shelf – and it hits the exact ratio a margarita needs to work with food: not too sweet, not too limey, enough tequila that you feel it by drink two.

Ingredients

• 1½ oz 1800 Reposado tequila (or any 100% agave reposado)
• ½ oz Cointreau
• 4 oz sweet-and-sour mix
• Kosher salt, for the rim
• Lime wedge, for garnish
• Ice

Equipment

• Cocktail shaker (or a jar with a lid)
• 12 oz glass – rocks or margarita
• Small plate for salt
• Jigger

Method

• Rim the glass. Run a lime wedge around a 12 oz glass and dip in kosher salt. Fill with fresh ice.
• Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice: tequila, Cointreau, sweet-and-sour mix.
• Shake for 10 seconds. Just enough to chill and integrate – this isn’t a drink that needs a hard 20-second shake.
• Pour over fresh ice in the salted glass. Do not strain – you want a little of the shaker ice to come along.
• Garnish with a fresh lime wedge.

Bartender’s notes

• Reposado is doing real work. OTB pours 1800 Reposado, and the light aging is what gives the drink its warmth. Blanco tastes thin here; añejo tastes overworked.
• Sweet-and-sour is fine for this drink. Unlike the top-shelf margs on this list, the Grande is built around sweet-and-sour and doesn’t try to be more than that. This is one of the few times bottled sour mix is actually the right call – the standard stuff works, though homemade is still better.
• Pour it over the shaker ice, not fresh ice. A little bit of the melted shaker ice comes over with the drink and gives it the right dilution. Straining and re-icing gives you a colder but more punchy drink; less balanced.
• The glass size matters. OTB serves this in a 12 oz glass, not a huge margarita bowl. Too much ice in too big a glass dilutes it into nothing.

Scaling for a pitcher

Easiest scaling on the list. For 6 servings:

• 9 oz reposado tequila
• 3 oz Cointreau
• 24 oz sweet-and-sour mix

Combine in a pitcher, chill. Serve individual glasses over ice – no shake needed for this one, just stir the pitcher and pour. A great crowd-pleaser drink.

Frequently asked

Can I use a different tequila? Yes. Any 100% agave reposado works. 1800 is what OTB pours, but Espolòn Reposado, Milagro Reposado, or Herradura Reposado are all fine substitutes.

Do I need fresh lime juice? Not for this one. Because the drink is built on sweet-and-sour, fresh lime is a nice-to-have but not necessary – the sour mix does the citrus work. Squeeze the garnish lime wedge into the drink if you want a little extra brightness.

What’s the difference between the Grande and OTB’s house margarita? The Grande uses a slightly better tequila (1800 Reposado vs. their well tequila), Cointreau instead of triple sec, and a bigger pour. Same basic proportions.

Can I make this frozen? Absolutely. Blend all ingredients with 1½ cups of ice per drink. Works great; OTB serves a frozen version too.

How strong is this drink? About 2 oz of liquor per glass. Standard strength – not weak, not aggressive. Two drinks with dinner is a normal Tuesday.

This recipe is part of TacoTuesday.com’s round-up of the 10 Best Copycat Restaurant Margaritas, Ranked