Fiancé loves key lime. Those tiny little limes occupy a surprisingly large portion of his brain. And being the spectacular fiancé that I am, I decided to fill his birthday with as much of it as possible. My baking skills are far from sophisticated, so I made him key lime bars for a box (and they still didn’t set properly!) My cocktail skills are much better, though- those I could do from scratch.

Today I’m going to share with you the best way to make margaritas.

Lets begin by getting one thing perfectly straight: I am very against pre-made margarita mixes. All of the ones I’ve tried have been overly sweet and have often had a just off flavor. The whole new level of flavor achieved is well worth the effort involved in juicing citrus and stocking the necessary ingredients.

So, without further ado, I provide you with an alternative:

Key Lime Margaritas and Lime-Zest Salted Rims

Ingredients:

3 oz key lime juice*

3 oz blanco tequila

2 oz triple sec

1 oz agave nectar

Key lime zest salt (recipe follows)

Key lime wedges (optional)

1. Shake the first four ingredients in a shaker filled with ice.

2. Strain into a rimmed cup.

3. Garnish with a lime wedge if desired.

*The first time I made drinks with key limes I juiced them using a standard citrus juicer. It sucked. So hard. This time, however, I quartered the key limes and used a garlic press the juice them. Not only did it go much faster (I was able to get the 3 oz in under 5 minutes), but I think it also got more juice from each lime. You’ve got to love life hacks.

Key Lime Zest Salt Rim

Zest of 1 key lime

2 tsp coarse kosher salt

1 Lime Wedge

1. Mix key lime zest and kosher salt in a shallow dish that is wider than the glass you will be rimming.

2. Rub lime wedge around the outside of the rim of glass to leave some juice.

3. Roll the glass in the key lime zest salt.

4. Allow to dry.

I hope you enjoy your margaritas!