Happy Cinco de Mayo! The world’s simplest Margarita Mocktail – Ritual Tequila plus a margarita mixer like Jose Cuervo or Mr. and Mrs. T Margarita Mix. Cheap and easy – just like I used to be in my 20s! (Just kidding!)

Seriously, though, you can make your own margaritas from scratch but margarita mixers are typically done so well, why bother? Save your mocktail mixology skill for a drink where it will really make a difference.

I do like to add a small bit of salt around the rim – a tiny bit of salt adds sweetness. And a squeeze of lime makes the drink bright and fresh.

You can tell the Ritual tequila isn’t “real” tequila if you do a shot, but in a margarita – it’s hard to tell the difference. The only difference you can tell is that after drinking these, you’ll be bouncing out of bed in the morning instead of dragging around, trying to avoid bright lights and loud noises.

BTW that’s a nice saltshaker. I bet someone lost it and is looking for it now. Hey – is anyone searching for a lost shaker of salt?

Are Margaritas Vegan?

If you’re making a margarita with “real” tequila, use regular tequila, not flavored. (Flavored tequilas may have animal products.) No need to worry about that mythical worm at the bottom of the bottle – only mezcal has worms.

As for non-alcoholic tequila substitutes – almost all are vegan. Many will proudly display a vegan symbol somewhere on their packaging. A few brands don’t market themselves as vegan because they don’t “source” their sugar – an issue for some vegans but not others.

Then there’s your margarita mix – again, most brands are vegan! Quite a few are also now sweetened with agave instead of sugar. Here, you mostly need to watch out for mixers sweetened with honey.

Salud! Que comience esta fiesta!