How Much Margarita for a Party?

Margarita Planning Guide

Plan margaritas by the finished drink, not the bottle. Most guests have two to three over an event, and one 750ml bottle of tequila batched into the classic ratio yields about 12 to 15 margaritas. That makes the planning easy: figure one bottle of tequila per six to seven guests, plus matching triple sec and a steady supply of fresh lime. For a party of 20 expecting two to three each, you are looking at roughly 40 to 60 margaritas, or three to four bottles of tequila batched ahead.

Decide between frozen and on-the-rocks early, because they are different operations. Rocks margaritas just need a pitcher of batched mix and a bucket of ice, so they scale to any size with no equipment. Frozen margaritas need a blender running all night and someone to run it, which becomes a bottleneck past a dozen guests. The practical answer for a larger party is to batch the mix once and offer it on the rocks by default, blending individual frozen ones only on request.

The batch ratio and a couple of small touches carry the whole drink. Use 3 parts tequila, 2 parts orange liqueur, and 1 part fresh lime juice, and lean on fresh lime rather than a bottled sour mix, which is the single biggest difference between a homemade margarita and a great one. Salt only half of each glass rim so guests can choose, and keep a virgin batch alongside, just lime juice, a splash of agave or simple syrup, and soda, so non-drinkers and kids are not left out.