Essential Tools for Making Margaritas at Home

Thirsty? Make sure you have these essential tools for making margaritas at home! Whether you’re hosting a backyard party or simply craving a refreshing margarita, having the right equipment is key to crafting the perfect drink.

Woman pouring Don Julio tequila into a jigger next to a cocktail shaker. — Let’s talk about the essential tools for making margaritas.

Why These Tools are Essential for Margaritas

There are a few margarita tools that we think will help you create your favorite margarita recipe perfectly every time.

A good cocktail shaker ensures your ingredients are mixed and chilled to perfection.

A high-quality citrus juicer gets every drop of tangy lime juice which provides that zing you find in a classic margarita recipe. A margarita glass not only enhances the presentation but makes the sipping experience even better (in my opinion).

We love this tool set that has everything you need to make the perfect margarita plus create unique variations (and of course other cocktails too). While you may have some tools already at home, this set will fill out any gaps. It also makes a great gift for people just starting to build their home bar.

Related: How to Salt a Margarita Glass

So what do you need to make margaritas? Truthfully, you can make delicious margaritas without any tools, straight in a glass if you really want to. But I think these tools do help to make it extra easy.

A margarita uses simple ingredients: triple sec, lime, Blanco tequila, a salted rim. These home bar tools will help you make a great drink every time.

What are my qualifications you ask? Well, I’ve spent years making delicious cocktails at home, learning through trial and error, without tons of storage space. I also have been a cocktail blogger on my other site, Cupcakes and Cutlery, for 10+ years.

Margarita Supplies

Not only are these the right tools to make margaritas, but they work to make your other favorite cocktails too. You’ll be enjoying happy hour in no time.

While you can find some of these tools cheaper, I prefer to buy a nice quality product. For many of these things, you’ll have them forever. They wear well and won’t need to be replaced, if you buy something halfway decent.

What you need to make margaritas on a wooden tray on a table.

Home Bar Set

If you aren’t interested in buying individual pieces, this 14-piece bartender kit has everything you need to make delicious drinks. It has a stainless steel cocktail shaker, jigger, muddler, a variety of strainers, a bar spoon, muddler and cocktail picks which are great for garnishing your margarita glass.

It’s EVERYTHING you need in one kit. Plus it’s a great price point. This kit will give you everything you need to make a ton of different cocktails and margaritas at home.

This is also a great gift idea for weddings, a housewarming or 21st birthdays.

A Boston shaker for making cocktails on a tray next to other cocktail tools.

Cocktail Shaker

There are two types of cocktail shakers and both work really well. The set we mentioned above has a Boston Shaker that pairs with a Hawthorne strainer to create a great margarita.

You can also use a Cobbler Shaker which has a built-in strainer in the lid. This type isn’t my favorite for making flavored margaritas, especially those muddled with fruit, as they let more pieces of fruit into the finished drink.

If you are setting up a margarita bar for a party it is a good idea to set out a few shakers so that your guests won’t have to wait while other people are making their drinks.

TIP: Even if you use a margarita mix or sour mix to create the classic cocktail more quickly, I still suggest making it in a cocktail shaker to get them chilled and mixed well.

A woman using a citrus squeezer to get lime juice into a cocktail shaker.

Citrus Juicer

A handheld juicer is my favorite for extracting fresh lime juice. I’ve used several different ones and this yellow one is the one I prefer! It holds up to washing in the dishwasher and wears well over time.

I recently learned about this fold-flat juicer, which stores really well but I haven’t tried it. If drawer space is an issue for you, you may want to try it out!

For larger batches you may want to use an electric juicer, but this is my go-to juicer for making cocktails at home. The fresh lime juice and orange liqueur give you a perfectly balanced margarita.

Yes, the lime is upside down in the photo above. Oops. What I love about this squeezer is that even when the limes aren’t super juicy, you can get as much juice out as possible. This tool does all the work for you without too much hand strength needed.

Of course, you can squeeze limes with your bare hands, but if you are making more than one margarita, I highly recommend using a citrus squeezer.

TIP: You can pre-squeeze fresh lime juice with a citrus press ahead of time and keep it up to one day in the refrigerator. This helps to cut down on prep time for making one drink at a time and is great if you are making them for a crowd.

Jigger

A jigger is essential to measure out the right amount of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. This small measuring tool ensures you get the perfect balance of flavors in each margarita.

While some people can eyeball their measurements, I prefer to measure everything to make sure the flavor is consistent in each cocktail.

A jigger has two measurements (plus some even have measuring lines inside giving you more variety) and makes it really fast and easy to measure all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker.

I often grab this mini-angled measuring cup too, especially if I am making more than one drink at a time.

Muddler

A muddler is ideal for making spicy margaritas. It’s the easiest way to bruise the sliced jalapeno into the lime juice to give the drink its signature heat. You don’t need it for a classic margarita recipe, but it’s always good to have one on hand.

You can also use a muddler to make other flavored variations that use fruits and herbs. The shape is designed to help you crush the ingredients in the bottom of a glass or cocktail shaker.

TIP: When muddling other flavors into your margarita I like to add the lime juice to the cocktail shaker first, then muddle the other ingredient into the juice. For things like herbs which release oils, I think this helps to impart the flavor into the cocktail better.

Margarita Glass

Opt for a glass with a wide rim, perfect for adding salt or sugar to complement your margarita. Suzy loves the look of the traditional margarita glass where I like the updated look of a stemless margarita glass (pictured above).

No matter what you use, your margarita will be delicious. For real, you can use any kind of glassware you already have on hand.

Other Tools You May Want

A woman using a measuring cup to add Triple Sec to a margarita pitcher.

Blender

While you don’t need a blender to make the classic margarita recipe, you do need it to make a frozen margarita. We also use a blender to make our cucumber margarita.

If making margaritas for a crowd, you’ll want a regular blender. But you can get away with a Blendjet or individual-sized blender for making purees for flavored margaritas.

Measuring Cups

When making larger batches of margaritas, a measuring cup is usually better than a jigger since it holds more liquid at one time. It’s easy to convert ounces to cups for a larger recipe, just Google it.

Pitcher

If you want to make a larger volume of margaritas for a crowd, that aren’t blended or frozen, a pitcher will serve you well. I prefer a glass pitcher but you can use what you have.

Cocktail Picks

A simple margarita garnish is a lime wheel or wedge, but for something a little more fun, you can use cocktail picks. Whether you just use it to skewer pieces of limes or use it for a more fancy garnish, they are small and easy to keep on your home bar cart.

Cocktail Smoker

If you’re looking to create a super unique margarita, you may want to try smoking one! A glass-topped cocktail smoker is easy to use, simple to store and will add the perfect smoky touch to your drink.

Salting Plate

You can just use a small plate to get salt on the rim of the glass but a salting plate looks really nice on a margarita bar and makes it super easy to use. This is mostly needed for a party and not something you absolutely have to have on your home bar for making margaritas.

Pouring Grand Mariner over the back of a spoon on top of a margarita.

Bar Spoon

I use a bar spoon often when making cocktails at home. It’s small and easily fits in the glass with ice to stir. For margaritas, it’s great for adding a Grand Mariner float on top of a Cadillac Margarita.

It’s also great if you want to add just a little bit of sweetener to the drink. You can use the bowl of the spoon to measure and keep things consistent.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a regular glass instead of a margarita glass?

Absolutely! While a margarita glass adds a touch of elegance, any glass that can hold your margarita will work just fine.

Do I need a cocktail shaker to make a margarita?

While a cocktail shaker helps achieve a well-mixed margarita, you can also use a large mason jar with a tight lid or even a blender.

What’s the difference between a margarita glass and a martini glass?

While both glasses have a stemmed design, a margarita glass typically has a wider rim and a rounded bowl, while a martini glass has a narrower, V-shaped bowl.

With these essential bar tools for making margaritas you’ll be well-equipped to create margaritas that everyone will love. Remember to experiment, have fun, and raise a glass to margarita making!