How to Set Up Your DIY Margarita Bar

Set up a Margarita Bar for your next party! These margarita bar ideas will help you set up a DIY drink station where your guests can make their own margaritas. From basic supplies to easy margarita recipes, we’ll show you how to set up a beverage bar perfect for your next party.

A margarita bar set up with cocktail shakers, margarita recipes, tequila and orange liqueur bottles, fruit juices, peppers, glasses, and plates with Tajin and sliced limes. — This Margarita Bar is perfect for any party.

Why Set Up a DIY Margarita Bar?

A Margarita Bar is awesome to have whenever you’re hosting an event. Here’s some of the reasons we love these margarita bar ideas:

A margarita bar lets your guests make their own drinks, leaving you to enjoy yourself and attend to other party details.
Guests are free and welcome to create their margaritas however they want, such as making them sweet (the way Suzy likes), spicy, flavored, or with less alcohol content. It’s the perfect DIY situation.
A margarita bar for a party lets your guests experiment with new-to-them tequila varieties, flavor combinations, and tasty rim options to make their margaritas even more delightful than usual.
Having a signature cocktail like a margarita means that you can keep bar costs down by providing only one type of liquor plus some flavorful modifiers.

So whether you’re throwing a birthday bash, celebrating Cinco de Mayo, commemorating a special event, or having a fun margarita party just because you’re in the mood, setting up a margarita bar will always be worthwhile!

We’ve created a margarita bar for a party that allows guests to make 5 different margarita recipes. Plus, we have a free printable sign you can use at the party, which will easily share the recipes.

Margarita Bar Ideas

Here’s what you need for your make-your-own margarita bar.

A bottle of Wild Common Tequila Reposado behind a bottle of fruit juice.

Ingredients

You’ll need these ingredients for making margaritas.

Tequila (variety) – Tequila is the most important part of a margarita. We have two blancos and a reposado in our bar, but if you want to serve an anejo, go right ahead. Use any brand you prefer (or have!)

A person holding the top portion of a Cointreau bottle beside a bottle of Grand Marnier behind bowls of dried lime wheels and cucumber slices.

Bottles of Grand Marnier and Cointreau behind two bowls filled with cucumber slices and dried lime wheels.

Triple Sec / Cointreau – We just set out Cointreau for the orange liqueur to keep things simple, but you can put out a variety of orange liqueurs if you prefer.
Grand Marnier – Grand Marnier can be used in place of orange liqueur or as a float on top to make a Cadillac Margarita.
Simple Syrup or Agave – Adds sweetness to margaritas for those who like them a little sweeter or want to balance the flavors perfectly.

Whole jalapeno and serrano peppers in front of bottles of fruit juice and tequilas.

Fruit Juices – Lime, cucumber puree, and strawberry puree work well here. Add more types of fruit juices (like orange or pineapple) if you prefer. These juices are easy to prepare ahead of time (or you can buy store-bought) but this offers a nice variety of flavors for your guests to choose from.

Plates of salt, Tajin, and sliced limes in front of bottles of orange liqueurs and bowls of cucumber slices and dried lime wheels.

A bottle of strawberry puree behind jalapeno and serrano peppers.

Cut Limes – For rimming margarita glasses.
Jalapenos – To make spicy margs.
Sliced Cucumbers – To muddle if you don’t want to use the cucumber puree or want you want to use them for a garnish.
Margarita Salt on a plate – For rimming glasses.
Tajin – For rimming glasses.
Garnishes – Lime wedges, fruit slices (fresh or dried), or even herbs like mint, rosemary, or basil are some examples of garnishes that you can leave out for people to finish of their drink with.

Supplies

Along with the margarita ingredients, there are a few supplies you will need to set up the perfect margarita bar for a party.

Cocktail Shaker – Depending on how many guests you may have, you may need more than one cocktail shaker on your margarita bar.
Jiggers and Measuring Cups – For measuring ingredients.
Muddler – For muddling jalapeno, limes or cucumbers.
Ice bucket with tongs/scooper or ice chest – Make sure there’s lots of ice! You need ice to shake and serve the margaritas.
Blender – Having one in your bar is a great idea if you want your guests to be able to make frozen blended drinks. But if you want to keep things simple you can skip this step.

Three stemless margarita glasses near the edge of a margarita bar.

Glasses – You can provide a variety of margarita glasses, like the stemless one we used in our bar, or plastic cups and tumblers. These are all great options for serving margaritas for a party.

Optional Margarita Bar Ideas

Dark green and bronze-colored margarita stirrers inside a jigger in between bottles of Grand Marnier and agave.

Special details are what help to make a party memorable. These ideas are optional but fun.

Straws – For those who don’t like sipping their margs through a salt rim. These are also a great way to add color to your drinks.
Cocktail napkins – These are useful for keeping things neat. They’re also a bonus if you’re using festive napkins aligned with the theme of your party.
Cocktail stirrers – For mixing and decorating cocktails.

Margarita Recipes Printable

Cocktail shakers, a small glass, and colorful napkins on a table with a framed It's All About Margarita Recipe Printable behind them.

An "It's All About Margaritas Recipes" Printable on top of a plate that's painted like a huge lime slice.

While we know a classic margarita is the ratio 2-1-1, your guests may need a little guidance. This printable not only gives easy directions on how to make the recipe but recipes for flavored versions as well.

Two plates of sliced limes and Tajin with printables of recipes and directions on how to make margaritas below them.

This margarita recipes printable are designed to be 5″ x 7″. One side has the classic recipe and simple directions on how to make the drink, plus a few variation ideas (i.e. making a skinny or super citrus marg.) The other page has recipes for flavored margaritas (cucumber margarita, strawberry margarita, and spicy margarita).

There are lines to help you cut out the sign easily, but we prefer using a paper cutter. You can prop the printables up and display them on the margarita bar.

CLICK HERE FOR THE MARGARITA RECIPES PRINTABLE.

How to Set Up a Margarita Bar for a Party

A photo of tequila bottles, agave, simple syrup, and cucumber and strawberry purees along with whole lime and peppers as well as sliced limes inside rectangular boxes.

Now that you’ve prepared all the ingredients, equipment, supplies, and menu, it’s time to set up the margarita bar!

Location

Figure out the best spot for your margarita bar. You can easily set it up on a table, counter or a bar cart depending on what you have.

Decorate

Liven up with table with a tablecloth, napkins, fresh flowers, or any colorful decorations that match the theme or colors of your party. The cardboard “M” was a really cute way to display the tequila and some of the other supplies, but they also make smaller ones that would be cute filled with flowers or limes or something else.

Set Up

I like to start from left to right and set up the ingredients as you would need them when making the drink. Since we were using the cute cardboard “M” as part of the decoration, we had to move things around a bit, but doing it in order of use is an efficient way to lay things out. The size of our M was 16.9″ to give you an idea of which size you may want to buy.

Ensure all the glasses, cocktail shakers, and ingredients are within easy reach so the guests won’t spend time moving about the bar.

Also, if you’re displaying the margarita menu, ensure guests can easily see and read it as they prepare their drinks.

A person placing a dried lime wheel on top of a strawberry margarita that's beside a cocktail shaker and in front of various margarita ingredients and supplies.

Make sure the garnishes, stirrers, straws, and napkins are available to finish off the drinks, and you’re all set!

Rimming Glasses Hack for a Party

A person dipping their upside down margarita glass into a plate with sliced limes.

A person dipping a margarita glass into a plate with salt.

Rimming a margarita glass is essential for enjoying this cocktail, but most people tend to be unfamiliar with the process!

So, to make rimming the glasses easier, you can slice limes (we used a mandolin to keep things even) and lay them flat on a plate. Then, each person can just turn their glass upside down and spin it in a circle. This will keep people from rubbing the lime on their glasses before dipping in salt.

You can reuse these limes several times and have fresh limes cut and ready to go in the fridge to refresh them later. I noticed a local Mexican food restaurant do this behind their bar and it’s SO smart!

A cocktail shaker beside a strawberry margarita in a salted rim glass garnished with a dried lime wheel, as well as a plate of sliced limes, in front of various margarita ingredients.

I used this margarita bar idea for a part my friend threw a few years ago. It was a “board” party so I turned this into a margarita board. I used the cardboard “M” like we did here and anything that didn’t fit went on large platter. It was a hit. I won first prize for most creative board!

Frequently Asked Questions

How to serve margaritas?

You can enjoy a margarita on the rocks (poured over ice cubes inside the glass) or straight up (you pour the margarita into a glass without any ice). You can also serve it frozen, blending all the ingredients along with ice cubes in a blender.

What is the best alcohol for margaritas?

Tequila made from 100% blue agave is the best alcohol to use for making margaritas! That’s why it’s a must-have when setting up a margarita bar. Blanco tequila is really good and is our go-to ingredient, but you can also try margs made with Reposado or Añejo tequila.

Why is a margarita served with salt?

The salt on the rim of a margarita’s glass serves more than just one purpose. Not only does it make your cocktail look good, but it can also enhance the delicious flavors of your drink!

A margarita bar full of ingredients, equipment, and supplies for making margaritas including cocktail shakers, bottles of tequila, orange liqueur, and fruit juices, fresh lime and jalapenos, and cut limes and Tajin on plates.

While this margarita bar features many ingredient options and recipes you can easily make it more simple by just offering what you need to make a classic margarita!

Use our guide to help plan and execute your margarita bar. We promise it will be a huge hit!

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