By Karl Hirsch · TacoTuesday.com · Prep 5 min · Total 5 min · Serves 1
The Italian Margarita is a gimmick – and that’s a compliment. It’s a normal margarita with a shot of amaretto poured into it right before you drink, and the amaretto turns the whole thing into something almond-forward and dessert-like. It’s not for purists. It’s for people who want their Tuesday to feel like a small celebration.
The theater matters as much as the drink. At Olive Garden, the server brings the margarita out with a small cordial glass of amaretto on the side, and the guest pours the amaretto into the drink themselves (or lets it ride alongside – some people sip both). Reproducing that ritual at home gets the same reaction every time.
Ingredients
- 1½ oz blanco tequila (Jose Cuervo is what the restaurant uses; any 100% agave works)
- 1 oz Cointreau
- 1 oz orange juice (fresh-squeezed, if you have it)
- 3 oz sweet-and-sour mix
- 1 oz amaretto (served alongside in a cordial glass – this is the whole move)
- Granulated sugar, for the rim
- Lime and orange slices, for garnish
- Ice
Equipment
- Cocktail shaker
- Margarita glass or rocks glass
- Small cordial glass or shot glass (for the amaretto)
- Small plate for sugar
- Jigger
Method
- Rim the glass with sugar (not salt – this drink runs sweet). Run a lime wedge around the rim of a margarita glass, then dip into granulated sugar. Fill the glass with fresh ice.
- Build the margarita. In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine the tequila, Cointreau, orange juice, and sweet-and-sour mix. Shake hard, 10–15 seconds.
- Strain over the fresh ice in the sugar-rimmed glass.
- Serve the amaretto on the side. Pour 1 oz of amaretto into a small cordial glass or shot glass. Place it next to the margarita.
- Garnish the margarita with orange and lime slices.
- At the table: pour the amaretto into the margarita and stir once, or sip both alternately. Both are correct. The pour-and-stir turns it into a full Italian Margarita; the alternating sip lets you control the amaretto ratio drink-to-drink.
Bartender’s notes
- Sugar rim, not salt. The whole drink is dessert-adjacent. Salt fights amaretto in a way that’s genuinely unpleasant.
- The amaretto-on-the-side thing is not optional. Serving it pre-mixed loses the whole appeal. If you’re batching this for a party, set up small shot glasses of amaretto alongside the margaritas so each guest pours their own.
- Disaronno is the amaretto to use. Widely available, cheap enough, tastes like the restaurant version. Don’t spring for anything fancier – it doesn’t help.
- Fresh OJ if you can, bottled if you can’t. Bottled OJ works fine here (unlike bottled lime, which is unusable) because the amaretto masks any off-notes.
- This is the only marg on the list that arguably works better blended. It’s fine over ice, but the Italian Margarita frozen – as a slushy – is genuinely great, and it’s how Olive Garden serves it by default. To make blended: throw everything except the amaretto into a blender with a cup of ice; blend smooth; serve the amaretto on the side same as above.
Scaling for a pitcher
For a pitcher that serves 6:
- 9 oz blanco tequila
- 6 oz Cointreau
- 6 oz orange juice
- 18 oz sweet-and-sour mix
- 6 oz amaretto (kept separate – pour into individual cordials at the table)
Combine everything except the amaretto in a pitcher, refrigerate. Serve individual glasses over ice (or blended). Set out cordial glasses of amaretto for each guest.
Frequently asked
Can I just mix the amaretto into the shaker with everything else? You can, and it’ll be a fine drink. But it won’t be an Italian Margarita in the way Olive Garden means it. The pour-at-the-table move is 40% of the experience.
How much amaretto is right? 1 oz is standard. Some people cut it to ½ oz for a subtler drink; some go to 1½ oz for a full-dessert experience. Try 1 oz first.
Does it have to be Disaronno amaretto? No. Any amaretto works. Disaronno is what Olive Garden uses and is the safe pick because it’s consistent and cheap. Lazzaroni is a nicer bottle if you want to spend more.
Sugar rim or salt rim? Sugar. Salt is wrong for this drink – it fights the amaretto in a way that’s genuinely unpleasant.
Can I make this without the sour mix? Sub 1 oz fresh lime juice + ½ oz simple syrup for the 3 oz of sour mix. It’ll be a little brighter and less sweet.
This recipe is part of TacoTuesday.com’s round-up of the 10 Best Copycat Restaurant Margaritas, Ranked
