How to Rim a Margarita Glass | Rancho La Gloria

Salt is the classic go-to for the traditional margarita, but with all of the fun flavors available, it’s not the only option anymore. Whether you are looking to indulge a sweet tooth or turn up the heat with a spicy finish, try these great ideas.

Regardless of what you are rimming a margarita glass with, the process is the same. You’ll need a shallow plate filled with a small pool of liquid like water, lemon juice, or lime juice and a second small plate with your ingredient of choices like salt or sugar. Turn the margarita glass upside and place the rim in the liquid, and then immediately in the topping. You should see a generous layer of topping stuck to the rim of the glass. You can turn it over and pour the margarita and serve.

Our Top 5 Favorite Ideas for Rimming Margarita Glasses

If you are looking to level up your margarita game with something other than coarse salt, we have rounded up our favorite ideas ranging from sweet to spicy and everything in between.

It’s a Party with Candy Colored Sprinkles

One of our favorite ways to dress up a drink is with a fun layer of multi-colored sprinkles. These days the indulgent vanilla notes of birthday-cake-flavored delights seem to be invading everything from breakfast cereal to lattes. And we think that birthday cake margaritas are the perfect pairing for brightly colored candy sprinkles and the perfect way to celebrate a birthday.

Amp Up the Citrus Notes with Orange Zest

There is no shortage of citrus options behind the bar. And it doesn’t get any more citrusy than the margarita that uses orange-flavored triple sec and lime juice to balance the tequila and create the perfect drink. Give your margaritas an extra boost of citrus by rimming the glass with orange, lemon, or lime zest.

Step Into the Wild Side with Spicy Jalapeno-Lime Chili Powder

If you like your tequila with a side of jalapenos, a spicy twist on the classic cocktail may just be what you are looking for. We like to take our favorite jalapeno-lime chili powder and mix it with finely ground rimming salt for a salty and spicy finish to your jalapeno-infused spicy margarita.

Try pairing a chile powder rim with Rancho La Gloria’s spicy watermelon margarita. The drink pairs sweet and juicy watermelon with the spice of jalapeno to create the perfect blend of sweet and spicy.

Alt text: margarita cocktail in the pool

Nail the Sweet Spice with Cinnamon Sugar

Embrace the cooler weather of fall with an apple cider margarita rimmed with spicy and sweet notes of cinnamon sugar. This one is actually easy to pull off; all you need is table sugar and ground cinnamon from the spice rack. Combine the two and rim your glass, finishing it off with a fall twist on a traditional margarita.

If you aren’t into the fall spin, try Rancho La Glorias tropical peach margarita rimmed with colored sugar or ground coconut. It’s the perfect way to indulge in the season of summer or spend some time on the beach.

Take a Small Step with Salt and Pepper

If you aren’t sure about the wild ideas of rimming your margarita glasses with candy sprinkles and chile powder, it’s ok to take smaller steps. Try adding coarse ground black pepper to your rimming salt for a salt and pepper effect. Black peppercorns add just the right something extra for a classic margarita.

Rancho La Gloria offers a fun twist on the classic margarita with a variety of bottled and canned margarita cocktails. Our beverages make a great base for experimenting with different flavors to create your signature margarita. Learn more today.

The Real Reason that You Rim a Margarita Glass

Rimming a margarita glass is as much about finishing the drink as it is about aesthetic presentation. Sure, you can drink a margarita without the salt, but it’s a lot better with it. This is because the sodium in the salt dampens the bitterness of the tequila. This has an enhancing effect on the sweet and sour tones in the beverage, blending all of the flavors in a perfect margarita.

A classic margarita uses salt, specifically coarse kosher salt, which gives a nice appearance and a great salt to tequila ratio. But if you are looking to dress things up, there is a whole world of options. For commercially flavored salts, you can choose from enhancements like fennel, habanero, plantain chips, and taco seasoning. But, there is no reason to pigeonhole yourself into what is commercially available. You can rim a glass with almost anything of similar size. For finely ground powders, simply mix them with your rimming salt.

Do You Need a Rimming Kit

Speaking of commercially available margarita accouterments, there are plenty of things you can pay for. There are a number of professional rimming kits, which are essentially plastic-shaped bowls filled with kosher salt. They put a fun label on it and sometimes mold a lime shape into the center to make it feel special. But is it necessary? Any seasoned bartender will tell you that a rimming kit is a hard passed. All you need is kosher salt from the grocery store and a small, shallow plate.

The Bottom Line on How to Rim a Margarita Glass

Since the first incarnation of the margarita, the glass has been rimmed with salt. Sodium pairs well with the tequila and enhances the subtle flavors in the drink, and in our opinion, it’s what really makes a margarita. As we experiment with new twists on the classic margarita, we are bound to find new, fun ways to rim the glasses. Birthday cake sprinkles, chile powder, taco seasoning, and ground plantains are just a few of the fun ideas we have tried.

Rancho La Gloria is a premium brand of margarita cocktails that makes it fun to enjoy your favorite tequila-based beverage. Every cocktail embodies the essence of the original margarita first served in 1938. Shop our flavors today.