10 Creative Takes on the Classic Cocktail for National Margarita Day

At happy hour hot spot Yard House, the color-changing Magic Margarita boasts a rich blue hue—at first. But thanks to Casa Noble crystal tequila infused overnight with butterfly pea flowers, the cocktail gradually turns to a purple shade when guests pour in the sidecar of house-made citrus agave. The striking drink is offered at all 81 Yard House locations for private events or group dining.

George Duval, mixologist for New York-based Open Bar Hospitality, took the classic cocktail up a notch—on the Scoville scale, that is—to create the Jamaican Heat Margarita. Garnished with crushed red pepper flakes and a Scotch bonnet pepper, the super-spicy margarita is not meant for the faint of heart. Duval says the drink was "inspired from our travels to the Caribbean and our love for the island Jamaica. The Scotch bonnet pepper, Ting [soda], and fresh hibiscus are all popular flavors of Jamaica."

Playa Vista's Sol Cocina offers a monthly, rotating Farmers’ Market margarita. On the menu for National Margarita Day is the vibrant Rose and Hibiscus Margarita, with Casamigos Blanco that's infused with dried hibiscus flowers and rose buds for 36 hours. The Southern California restaurant accommodates 225 people seated or 300 for receptions and has a patio that seats as many as 80 guests.

"Margarita means 'daisy' in Spanish," explains Justin Lane Briggs, spirits consultant for the Cabinet in New York, where the new Don Celso Daisy cocktail is aptly named. "It's a margarita that's delicious and classical, yet speaks of place—the terroir of Río Golea in San Pedro Quiatoni, Oaxaca. The power of suggestion from the blue color easily implies blueberry to my palate, and I presume to everyone else's too."

A creative concoction from Chicago-based Blue Plate, the Slow Margarita's key ingredient is fruit purée ice cubes. Says Blue Plate mixologist Lov Carpenter: "Simply freeze your favorite fruit purée into ice cubes, then add them to your margarita for a time-released, fruit-filled cocktail experience."

Behind the bar at San Diego's El Chingon restaurant, the paleta-topped Bad Ass Margarita is made with 100 percent Blue Weber agave tequila, locally sourced lime juice, freshly squeezed orange juice, and organic agave nectar from Azuñia. "The secret to enjoying the Bad Ass Margarita is to let the paleta soak in the drink for at least five minutes before taking your first bite," says GBOD Hospitality Group beverage director Ryan Andrews. "The flavor will melt in your mouth.”

Created for National Margarita Day, the Yellow Tomato Margarita at the bar Lot 15 inside the Kixby hotel in New York, is made of Tromba blanco tequila and tomato thyme jam, then garnished with yellow cherry tomatoes and jalapeño slices. "The olive oil helps bring a savory richness to the drink," says bar specialist Cameron Shaw, "and the sea salt ties all of the flavors together.”

Though mobile bartending business Bottoms Up Bartending in New York can mix up just about anything, its take on the Pineapple Margarita is equal parts photogenic and palatable, with fresh lime juice and pineapple juice at the forefront of the flavor.

Beverage director Melina Meza at West Hollywood's Olivetta crafted her own version of the skinny margarita with the veggie-focused Tequila Cocktail. "Fresh rainbow carrot juice and jasmine honey bring together approachable earthy and floral notes without any additional sugar found in most syrups," she says. "The Amaro Montenegro adds complex bittersweet flavors that balance it all together."

Laguna Beach-based Rasta Rita Margarita Truck offers custom cocktails for every event, which is how the team mixed up this Marga-tini made with a chilled lime sports drink and silver tequila and crushed Oreo Thins around the rim. It's shaken, not stirred.