8 margaritas, from the IBA spec to the skinny one and the bottled mix, each with exact measures and its calories, carbs, sugar and strength worked out from USDA FoodData Central and our own spirit data.
A classic margarita (2 oz tequila, 1 oz Cointreau, 1 oz lime) is 235 calories, 9.5 g of carbs and 7.5 g of sugar, and it is 2 standard drinks. A skinny margarita is 140, one from a bottled mix 206 with 27 g of sugar, and a frozen one about 268. 83% of the classic's calories are alcohol.
Per drink as written in the recipes below. "Std" is US standard drinks of 14 g of alcohol. Tap a drink for its recipe.
For comparison, USDA's survey database, which records drinks as Americans report them, lists a margarita at 275 calories, 36 g of sugar and 1.32 standard drinks for a typical 225 g (about 8 oz) drink, frozen or on the rocks: larger and sweeter than a bar-spec classic.
In the classic, the 2 oz of tequila is 131 calories, all of it alcohol at 7 calories per gram. The ounce of Cointreau adds 93: it is 40% alcohol as well as 6.9 g of sugar, so it is the second shot in the glass, not just the sweetener. Lime juice is a few calories.
So the quickest cuts are pouring less and swapping the liqueur. A margarita with no orange liqueur and no sweetener is 142 calories and nearly sugar-free, but it is mostly tequila.
2 oz tequila and 1 oz lime, with each sweetener in the orange liqueur's place. Agave and syrup cut calories because they carry no alcohol, but they add more sugar than the liqueur does.
Liqueur sugar as measured by Vinmonopolet, Norway's state retailer: Cointreau 234 g/L, Grand Marnier 235 g/L, De Kuyper Triple Sec 263 g/L, all 40%. Triple secs sold at lower proof differ; check the label. Agave nectar from USDA.
We read the 60 plain lime margarita mixes in USDA's Branded Foods database, which transcribes each Nutrition Facts panel: 49 regular labels from 43 brands and 11 light or skinny ones. The median regular mix has 19.2 g of sugar per 100 mL, 23 g in the 4 oz serving 33 of them list, and the range runs from 7.17 to 36.7 g per 100 mL: 8.5 to 43 g per 4 oz.
Light and skinny mixes swap some or all of the sugar for erythritol, stevia, sucralose, monk fruit or allulose. Their median is 1.33 g per 100 mL. Per drink with 1½ oz tequila and 4 oz of mix:
Flavored mixes (strawberry, mango, spicy), powders, frozen concentrates and duplicate uploads are left out. The recipe card below uses the USDA reference entry, the same figure as our low calorie cocktails ranking.
A US standard drink is 14 g of alcohol, the amount in a 1½ oz shot of 80 proof tequila. The classic 2:1:1 holds 2 of them, because the Cointreau is as strong as the tequila. The classic margarita (2:1:1) and frozen margarita are the strongest here at 2; the skinny margarita and the mix margaritas are 1.
Two classic margaritas are 4 standard drinks, which is the level NIAAA defines as binge drinking for women when it happens within about 2 hours (5 for men). Pacing them, eating first and having water between drinks is the practical answer (Cleveland Clinic). A 12 oz can of Cutwater Lime Margarita at 12.5% is 2.5 standard drinks.
For calories, any: every 80 proof tequila adds 98 calories per 1½ oz and no carbohydrate (USDA), and a 90 proof bottle adds about 16 more to a 2 oz pour. Mexican tequila law (NOM-006) allows up to 1% additives by weight, at most about 0.5 g in a 2 oz pour.
The chemistry is what differs. These are the 19 tequilas in our data, lowest Hangover Index first, with their status on the independent additive-free list.
Lowest calorie first. Tequila is 80 proof, the legal minimum in the US. ABV is the mix before ice melts into it. Salt rims and lime wheels are not counted.
Tequila with a bottled light or skinny mix, sweetened partly or wholly with erythritol, stevia, sucralose, monk fruit or allulose.
Shake or pour over ice. Numbers use the median of 11 light and skinny mix labels; brands run from 0 to 12.8 g of sugar per 100 mL, so check yours.
Tequila, fresh lime and a quarter ounce of agave, lengthened with soda water.
Shake the tequila, lime and agave with ice, strain over fresh ice and top with the soda water.
The International Bartenders Association's official spec: 50 mL tequila, 20 mL triple sec, 15 mL lime. Smaller and drier than the 2:1:1.
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. IBA lists a half salt rim as optional; the salt is not counted. Cointreau stands in for the triple sec.
Three parts tequila, two parts orange liqueur, one part lime. Sweeter than the 2:1:1 because the liqueur outweighs the lime.
Shake hard with ice and strain over fresh ice. The same name is also used for 3 tequila, 2 lime, 1 agave, which is close to the Tommy's.
What many bars and blenders pour: tequila stretched with sweet-and-sour mix.
Shake or blend with ice. USDA lists bottled margarita mix at 21.4 g of sugar per 100 g, which is where these calories come from.
Tequila, orange liqueur and lime in the classic 2:1:1. Most of its weight is the alcohol, not the sugar.
Shake hard with ice and strain into a salt-rimmed glass over fresh ice. The salt is not counted.
The classic blended with a cup of ice, plus half an ounce of syrup. The ice adds volume, not calories.
Blend with 1 cup of ice until smooth and pour into a chilled glass. Sweet taste weakens as a drink gets colder (Talavera 2005), so the syrup keeps the slush from tasting sharp.
Tequila, lime and agave nectar, no orange liqueur. Julio Bermejo created it at Tommy's in San Francisco; in 2008 it became the first venue-specific drink in the IBA manual.
Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled rocks glass filled with ice; garnish with a lime slice (IBA). The full 30 mL of agave nectar is the sweetest part of the drink.
About 235 for a classic 2:1:1 margarita (2 oz tequila, 1 oz Cointreau, 1 oz lime), with 9.5 g of carbs and 7.5 g of sugar. The smaller IBA spec is 179. A margarita from a bottled mix is 206, and USDA's survey database, which records drinks as Americans report them, lists a typical margarita at 275 calories for a 225 g (about 8 oz) drink.
About 140 calories and 7.3 g of sugar for 1½ oz tequila, 1 oz lime, ¼ oz agave and 2 oz soda water. With a bottled light or skinny mix it is about 122. Most of the saving comes from pouring less alcohol: the skinny margarita is 1 standard drink against 2 for the classic, and per standard drink it is 140 calories against 117.
7.5 g in a classic made with Cointreau, nearly all from the liqueur. A margarita from a regular bottled mix has 27 g, and a Tommy's margarita made to the IBA spec with 30 mL of agave nectar has 28 g, the most of any version here. A tequila and lime with no sweetener at all has 0.5 g.
9.5 g in the classic, 10 g in the skinny version and 27 g with a bottled mix. Tequila itself has no carbohydrate (USDA), so the carbs are the liqueur, the sweetener and the lime. For a keto-style drink, tequila, lime and soda water, or a light mix at 5.9 g, are the lowest.
A classic 2:1:1 margarita holds 2 oz of tequila and 1 oz of 40% orange liqueur: the alcohol of 2 standard 1½ oz shots. The IBA margarita is 1.58, a skinny margarita or one from a mix 1. A double pour or a large glass scales all of it up.
Before shaking, a classic margarita is 30% alcohol, the IBA spec 33%, and a margarita from a bottled mix about 11%. Shaking or blending with ice adds water, so the drink in the glass is weaker by volume, but it holds the same alcohol: 2 standard drinks for the classic. Two classics are 4, which is the NIAAA's binge level for women (about 4 drinks in 2 hours).
Not because it is frozen: ice adds volume, not calories, and USDA's survey database lists a frozen margarita with exactly the same calories per gram as one on the rocks. Cold does dull sweet taste (Talavera 2005), so a blended margarita can taste sharp without a little more sweetener. The frozen recipe here, the classic plus ½ oz simple syrup, is 268 calories against 235. Beyond that, the glass size decides it.
Three parts tequila, two parts orange liqueur, one part lime. With 1½ oz tequila, 1 oz Cointreau and ½ oz lime it is 197 calories, 7.2 g of sugar and 1.67 standard drinks. The same name is also used for 3 tequila, 2 lime, 1 agave, which is close to a Tommy's margarita.
Tequila, lime and agave nectar, with no orange liqueur. Julio Bermejo created it at Tommy's in San Francisco, and in 2008 it became the first venue-specific cocktail in the IBA manual (Difford's Guide). The IBA spec, 60 mL tequila, 30 mL lime and 30 mL agave nectar, is 270 calories and 28 g of sugar. Halving the agave brings it to 207 calories and 14 g.
Lower in calories, higher in sugar. In a 2 oz tequila and 1 oz lime margarita, 1 oz of Cointreau (a triple sec) gives 235 calories and 7.5 g of sugar; ½ oz of agave nectar gives 204 calories and 14 g of sugar. The liqueur's extra calories are its alcohol: it is 40%, so it also adds 0.67 of a standard drink.
It is a drink with alcohol and usually sugar, so "lighter" is the honest word. The lightest versions here are a margarita from a light mix (122 calories) and the skinny margarita (140), each one standard drink. The bigger levers are the glass size and how many: every margarita is at least one standard drink, and the classic is two. Water between drinks and food first help (Cleveland Clinic).
For calories it does not matter: every 80 proof tequila adds 98 calories per 1½ oz and no carbs. Tequila law (NOM-006) allows up to 1% additives by weight, which in 2 oz is at most about 0.5 g. What differs is the rest of the chemistry: 100% agave blancos score lowest on our Hangover Index, and Fortaleza Blanco, Siete Leguas Blanco and Tequila Ocho Plata were on the independent additive-free list until it was withdrawn in October 2024. See the healthiest tequila ranking and the additive-free list.
Check the can: the sugar is the unknown. Cutwater Lime Margarita, for one, does not publish its residual sugar, so only the alcohol can be pinned down: a 12 oz can at 12.5% holds 2.5 standard drinks, about 245 calories before any sugar.