Barsys
Skinny Margarita
About
The Skinny Margarita is the classic with less to hide behind. Same tequila, same fresh lime, but the agave drops to a quarter ounce, and that single cut changes the character of the drink. Less sweetness, more clarity. It's the version for people who want the Margarita to taste like tequila and lime rather than sugar.
The appeal is restraint. With the agave pulled right back, there's almost nothing softening the drink, so the quality of what's left has to carry it. Good tequila shows its earthy, bright character. Fresh lime does the heavy lifting on flavor rather than just cutting sweetness. What you get is leaner, sharper, and more spirit-forward than the original, a drink with real confidence in its own simplicity.
In the collection, it's the grown-up of the flight. Where the classic is balanced and the spicy is bold, the skinny is honest.
Shaken or Stirred? Shaken. With so little agave to bind things, the shake matters even more here. It brings the tequila and lime together, adds the cold and light dilution the drink needs, and softens the sharper edge that comes from pulling the sweetness back. Shaken and poured over fresh ice, it lands clean and bright. Built, it would drink thin.
What You'll Need
For one Skinny Margarita:
- 2 oz tequila
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1/4 oz agave
- Ice cubes
Glass: Rocks
Rim: Salt
Garnish: Lime wedge
Pro tip: With the agave this low, the tequila is exposed, so this is the drink to pour your better bottle into. In the classic, sweetness can carry a modest tequila. Here it can't, and the difference between an average and a good blanco is immediately obvious.
How to Make It
Prep time: 3 to 4 minutes
Skill level: Easy
- Rim a rocks glass with salt and fill it with cubed ice.
- Add the tequila, lime juice, and agave to a shaker.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake well until cold.
- Strain into the prepared glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with a lime wedge and serve.
Using Barsys Cocktail Machine?
The Skinny Margarita is the drink that makes the strongest case for the machine, because a quarter ounce is exactly the measure a human hand gets wrong. It's small enough to under or overpour without noticing, and in a drink this lean, a quarter ounce that becomes a half ounce is the difference between sharp and sweet. The whole point of the drink is lost with one careless pour.
The Shaker Pro drink maker pours that quarter ounce to a tenth of an ounce, every time, from the same agave canister the rest of the flight uses. Same load, same machine: the classic at a full ounce, the skinny at a quarter, both exact, no jigger juggling and no drift. On a drink defined by how little of something it contains, that precision isn't a nicety. It's the drink.
For the full recipe, download the Barsys App.
Tasting Notes
The Barsys Edge
The Skinny Margarita is defined by a very small number, and small numbers are where hands fail. A quarter ounce is hard to pour consistently and easy to overshoot, and in a drink this exposed, overshooting it quietly turns a lean, dry cocktail back into an ordinary sweet one. The whole identity of the drink lives in that measure.
Barsys holds it exactly. A true quarter ounce, poured the same way every time, so the drink stays as lean and precise as it's meant to be. In a serve built on restraint, being able to trust the smallest measure is everything, and that trust is precisely what the machine delivers.
Sip Setting
The Skinny Margarita is the anytime pour, the one for people who love the drink but not the sugar, and for the lighter end of the evening when something crisp beats something rich. It's easy to drink without being heavy, spirit-forward without being aggressive, and it fits the guest who orders with a little intention. In the flight, it's the considered choice.
Garnish Game
A lime wedge over a wheel is the right call here, leaner and more functional, letting the guest squeeze in a little more citrus to match the drink's dry character. With the salt rim, it keeps the presentation honest and unfussy, which suits a cocktail built on stripping things back. Nothing extra, because the drink is the argument for less.
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FAQs
What is a Skinny Margarita?
A lighter version of the classic, made with tequila, fresh lime juice, and only a quarter ounce of agave, shaken and served over ice in a salt-rimmed rocks glass.
Why is it called skinny?
Because the agave is cut right back, which lowers the sugar and the sweetness. The result is a drier, leaner, more spirit-forward drink than the original.
Does it taste like a regular Margarita?
It's recognizably a Margarita, but sharper and less sweet, with the tequila and lime much more prominent. If you find the classic too sweet, this is the one.
What tequila should I use?
A good blanco. With so little agave to soften it, the tequila is exposed, so quality shows more here than in any other version.
Can it be batched for a party?
Yes. Keep the ratio fixed, and it scales cleanly. The quarter ounce of agave is the measure worth getting exact at scale, which is exactly what the Barsys Shaker Pro drink maker handles.