Table of Contents
  1. Why I Love a Spicy Margarita
  2. Spicy Margarita Ingredients
  3. How to Make a Spicy Margarita
  4. Recipe Tips
  5. Serving & Storage
  6. More Drink Recipes
  7. Watch How to Make This Recipe
  8. Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?
  9. Spicy Margarita Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.

This spicy margarita recipe is the perfect mix of smoky, citrusy, and fresh, with poblano liqueur, jalapeño, and lime for a bold, balanced cocktail. Ready in 5 minutes and easy to customize!

Kaleb Wyse wearing black shirt with a tan background.

Why I Love a Spicy Margarita

Spicy margarita lovers, this one’s for you. If you love a classic margarita (which I sincerely do), but want just a little more attitude, this is the go-to cocktail to make.

With fresh lime juice, smoky poblano liqueur, and a few slices of jalapeño for heat, this drink has bold flavor without being overpowering. It’s just the right balance of refreshing, spicy, and perfectly citrusy, and it really couldn’t be easier to make. If you’re having friends over to celebrate, I promise this is the drink you’ll keep making time and again.

There are three great reasons to love this recipe:

  • Flavor-forward heat: Poblano liqueur (like Ancho Reyes Verde) brings warm, smoky spice, not just heat.
  • Effortless prep: It comes together in under 5 minutes, which is perfect when you just want a good drink and some time to relax.
  • Always festive: Whether it’s summer, fall, or after a long farm day (for me!), this margarita feels right.

For me, this is the best margarita, and it tends to be the one that I always end up making!

Glass with tajin on rim filled with spicy margarita with jalapenos in glass.

Spicy Margarita Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to shake up this spicy margarita:

  • Tequila blanco – Clean and crisp.
  • Poblano liqueur – Slight spice from the poblano peppers is amazing! I opt for a version from Ancho Reyes Verde.
  • Cointreau – Adds just the right citrus sweetness and balances out the tequila.
  • Fresh orange juice – Smooths the tartness and layers flavor.
  • Fresh lime juice – A must for any margarita.
  • Agave syrup – If you like your margarita a touch sweeter.
  • Jalapeño – You can adjust the heat here.
  • Sparkling water – Top it off with your favorite lime soda or bubbly water.
  • Chili lime seasoning – A zesty blend of chili, salt, and lime that adds a bold, tangy kick to the rim of each glass.

The full amount of each ingredient can be found in the recipe card below.

Surface filled with ingredients needed for spicy margarita including liquor, fruit, and more.

How to Make a Spicy Margarita

Shake: In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine the tequila, poblano liqueur, Cointreau, orange juice, lime juice, agave, and jalapeño slices. Shake for about 30 seconds, until the exterior of the shaker gets frosty.

Two glasses with a cocktail shaker filled with prepared margarita before being poured into glass.

Strain & Serve: Pour into chilled glasses over fresh ice.

Top it off: Add sparkling water (I’m partial to Topo Chico). Optional: Rim the glass with chili lime seasoning (or Tajín) for extra deliciousness!

Sparkling water pouring into glass with margarita with salted rim.

Recipe Tips

  • Customize the rim: Use the classic coarse salt or switch things up by mixing in some additional spice: smoked paprika and chipotle powder will add a smoky zing. Chili lime seasoning is another great option!
  • Adjust the sparkling water ratio to taste. Add more bubbles for a lighter, less punchy profile.

Serving & Storage

Serve immediately! The bubbles are best fresh, so drink these as soon as they’re prepared!

Prep ahead: Mix all ingredients (minus sparkling water and ice) and keep cold in the fridge. Shake and strain into glasses filled with fresh ice right before serving.

Make a batch: Multiply the recipe by the number of servings you want and mix up a batch in a large pitcher.

Watch How to Make This Recipe

YouTube video

Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?

I hope you make this recipe and put some food on your table. Leave a comment and share a star rating so you can let others know how much you love this recipe. This helps show others that this is a recipe they, too, can make, enjoy, and love!

Glass filled with spicy margarita with seasoning on glass as garnish.

Spicy Margarita

4.70 from 10 votes
This spicy margarita recipe is the perfect mix of smoky, citrusy, and fresh, with poblano liqueur, jalapeño, and lime for a bold, balanced cocktail. Ready in 5 minutes and easy to customize!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2 margaritas

Ingredients

  • 2 oz tequila blanco
  • 2 oz poblano liqueur
  • 1 ½ oz Cointreau
  • 1 ½ oz fresh orange juice
  • 2 oz fresh lime juice
  • 2-3 tsp agave syrup (optional)
  • 6 slices jalapeño
  • sparkling water (as desired)
  • chili lime seasoning to garnish glasses (as desired)

Instructions
 

  • Shake. In a shaker filled with ice, add the tequila, poblano liqueur, Cointreau, orange juice, lime juice, agave syrup (if using), and jalapeño. Shake for about 30 seconds until the shaker is frosty.
    2 oz tequila blanco, 2 oz poblano liqueur, 1 ½ oz Cointreau, 1 ½ oz fresh orange juice, 2 oz fresh lime juice, 2-3 tsp agave syrup (optional), 6 slices jalapeño
  • Prepare the glasses. If desired, dip the rim of each glass in water (or lime juice) and roll in chili lime seasoning. Add fresh ice to each glass and pour in the shaken liquid.
    chili lime seasoning
  • Finish. Top each glass with sparkling water and serve immediately.
    sparkling water (as desired)

Nutrition

Serving: 1margaritaCalories: 242kcal
Course Drinks
Cuisine Southwestern
Difficulty Easy
Method Mixing

You May Also Like

Never miss a post by signing up for my newsletter.
Avatar for Kaleb Wyse

Kaleb

Kaleb Wyse is a New York Times bestselling author behind the popular Wyse Guide website. Living on his fourth-generation Iowa farm, he loves sharing recipes and gardening tips that come from traditions that feel comfortably familiar. His down-to-earth style makes sustainable living and farm life feel like home!

Learn more about me
4.70 from 10 votes (6 ratings without comment)

8 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Love ALL your posts—from gardening, to cooking, to antiquing! You’re so down to earth, conversational and informative!! And so fun—who doesn’t need more fun?!

  2. 5 stars
    I made your Spicy Margarita today for Cinco de Mayo (along with carnitas, Vigo’s cilantro lime rice and seasoned sweet corn (off the cob). It is amazing to actually taste the poblano in the Ancho Verde liqueur. I’ve been recuperating from a painful hip revision surgery in early April, and I can tell you that, now on my second margarita (small ones), I am feeling no pain! Very yummy!

  3. Kaleb – this Margarita is so yummy for a cool fall evening. I found the Ancho Reyes at Total Wine and the “warming” poblano after effect is awesome! The fresh and high quality ingredients make this a top shelf marg. I used Lime sparkling La Croix to top and Himalayan salt mixed with ancho Chile powder to rim. Thank you!

  4. 4 stars
    I love Margaritas too. I post a variety of cocktails on my blog but I’m always looking for a new margarita, something different.

    Still, this is the one that made me love margaritas. I tried Margaritas when I was out with friends and I thought they were awful and I could not understand why people loved them. It’s amazing that I even took a leap of faith and decided to try something but discovered that good tequila, real orange liqueur and a little bit of aging makes all the difference in the world! This one’s a little bit of work but I encourage you to try it sometime, we think it’s the best!

    https://creative-culinary.com/best-fresh-margarita-cocktail-recipe/

  5. 5 stars
    Excellent drink!
    Spicy Margaritas aren’t usually my go to but this one is delicious

Comments are closed.