How Much Alcohol Is in a Margarita? The Math, and How to Set It Yourself

By Jason LaValla, founder, Casamara Club · September 2026

Jump to: What a standard drink is · Set it yourself: three worked examples · The classic margarita, worked out · ABV by recipe: classic, skinny, frozen, pitcher · Why restaurant margaritas vary so much · A margarita with no alcohol in it · FAQ

The alcohol in a margarita is whatever went into the glass: how much tequila, which orange liqueur, how big the pour. At a bar you are guessing. At home there is a way to know exactly: start with a non-alcoholic margarita and add the tequila yourself, measured. The arithmetic for both is below.

The short answer: a classic margarita (2 oz tequila, 1 oz orange liqueur, 1 oz lime) holds about 1 to 1.2 oz of pure alcohol, which is 1.5 to 2 standard drinks, around 15 to 20% ABV in the glass once shaken. A non-alcoholic margarita lets you set that number yourself. Pour an 8 oz can of Superclasico Margarita over a measured shot of blanco tequila and the tequila is the only alcohol in the drink: 1 oz makes a 9 oz margarita at about 4.4% ABV, two-thirds of a standard drink; 1½ oz makes one standard drink at about 6.3%; 2 oz makes 1.3 standard drinks at 8%. Without the tequila, it is a non-alcoholic margarita.

What a standard drink is

In the United States a standard drink is 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is 0.6 fl oz. That is the alcohol in a 12 oz beer at 5% ABV, a 5 oz glass of wine at 12%, or a 1.5 oz shot of an 80-proof spirit. Everything below is measured in it, because "one margarita" is not a unit: the same name covers a 4 oz coupe and a 16 oz schooner.

To count the alcohol in any drink, multiply each spirit's volume by its ABV, add the results, and divide by 0.6.

Set it yourself: Superclasico Margarita plus a measured pour

Build the margarita on a non-alcoholic base and the only alcohol in the glass is the tequila you measured, so the count is arithmetic instead of a guess. Superclasico Margarita is a non-alcoholic margarita in an 8 oz can. Start with tequila and ice at the bottom of your favorite small, unfussy glassware. Pour the Margarita down the wall of the glass, not directly over the ice. Superclasico comes in 8oz cans only, and they will do just fine. Salt the rim if you go that way, and garnish with a lime wheel. For a crowd, grab a pitcher. We think the Margarita mixes particularly well with blanco tequila.

Three pours, worked out. Tequila at 40% ABV, one 8 oz can, no ice melt counted; the ABV is the finished cocktail's, and it only goes down as the ice melts.

The arithmetic, for the middle row: 1.5 oz × 0.40 = 0.60 oz of alcohol; 0.60 ÷ 9.5 oz = 6.3% ABV; 0.60 ÷ 0.6 = one standard drink. Even the 2 oz pour, the same tequila as the classic recipe, lands at 1.33 standard drinks in a 10 oz drink, against the classic's 1.6 to 2.0 in 6 oz, because the orange liqueur's alcohol is gone and the volume is up. Skip the tequila and the count is zero.

The classic margarita, worked out

The common American recipe is 2 parts tequila, 1 part orange liqueur, 1 part fresh lime, shaken and served up or on the rocks. Tequila sold in the United States is bottled at 40% ABV or higher; a few bottlings run stronger. Orange liqueur is the variable: a budget triple sec is often 15 to 30% ABV, while the premium orange liqueurs run 40%. So:

• 2 oz tequila × 40% = 0.80 oz alcohol
• 1 oz orange liqueur × 15 to 40% = 0.15 to 0.40 oz alcohol
• Total: 0.95 to 1.20 oz of pure alcohol, or 1.6 to 2.0 standard drinks

Shaking with ice adds roughly half again the volume in meltwater, so the 4 oz you measured becomes about 6 oz in the glass. That puts the classic at roughly 15 to 20% ABV as served. The International Bartenders Association spec is smaller and leaner: 50 mL tequila, 20 mL triple sec, 15 mL lime, which works out to 1.3 to 1.6 standard drinks.

ABV by recipe: classic, skinny, frozen, pitcher

The alcohol in a margarita tracks the tequila almost entirely; dilution changes the strength and leaves the count alone. The table assumes 40% tequila and orange liqueur at 15 to 40%, and rounds to the nearest tenth of a standard drink. Every row is a worked example; your recipe may differ.

Two things stand out. The "skinny" margarita is lighter only because the liqueur is gone; the tequila is unchanged, so it is still more than a beer. And the frozen margarita holds the same alcohol: a cup of ice typically brings a 4 oz recipe to around 10 oz in the glass and the ABV down to roughly 10 to 12%, and the ounces of alcohol are identical.

Why restaurant margaritas vary so much

A restaurant margarita can be one standard drink or three, and the menu rarely says which. The reasons, in order of how much they matter:

• Pour size. The standard spirit pour at most American bars is 1.5 oz, and house margaritas commonly run 1.5 to 2 oz of tequila; a "double" or a "top-shelf" upgrade often adds a full extra shot, which is another standard drink on its own.
• Glass size. A 6 oz coupe holds the classic recipe. A 16 or 20 oz schooner is filled with more spirit, more mix, or more ice, and only the first changes the count.
• Which orange liqueur. A well triple sec at 15% and a 40% orange liqueur differ by about 0.4 of a standard drink per ounce poured.
• Batching. Bars that pre-batch or run a frozen machine set the tequila-to-mix ratio once, and it can be anything.
• Ice melt. A margarita on the rocks gets weaker per sip as it sits. The alcohol in the glass does not change.

If you want to know what you are drinking, ask what the pour is. Bartenders answer that question all day.

A margarita with no alcohol in it

A margarita without tequila is the same drink with the arithmetic set to zero: lime, sweetness, orange, salt, cold. Ours is Superclasico Margarita, a non-alcoholic margarita in an 8 oz can, built on sparkling water, lime juice, and blue agave syrup, with extracts of blue agave, lime peel, gentian, Valencia orange, Seville orange, apricot, peppermint, orange blossom, and Ceylon cinnamon. Lime peel and Seville orange up front, Valencia orange and apricot through the middle, gentian and Ceylon cinnamon on the finish. A can carries 40 calories and 9 g of sugar. Coming soon in 12-can packs and up; the product page takes a Notify Me. Serve it cold, poured slowly down the wall of a small, unfussy glass over ice, per our serving guide; the non-alcoholic margarita page has the shorter version. Add the tequila and you are back in the table above, at whatever number you measured, in a drink that is full-flavored and bright, and pairs with food better than any margarita you've ever had. Of course we love it with traditional asada street tacos (don't forget the cilantro and white onion), but try it with hot chicken, seafood gumbos, or green curry.

From scratch, it is 1½ oz fresh lime juice, ¾ oz agave syrup, and 1 oz fresh orange juice, shaken hard over ice, strained into a salt-rimmed glass, and topped with a splash of soda water. The full recipe, with a pitcher for eight and the common mistakes, is in our virgin margarita recipe; more builds are on our recipes page.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many standard drinks is a margarita?

A: A classic 2 oz tequila, 1 oz orange liqueur, 1 oz lime margarita is 1.6 to 2.0 standard drinks, depending on the liqueur's strength. The IBA spec is 1.3 to 1.6, a "skinny" margarita is about 1.3, and a double pour with 3 oz of tequila and 1.5 oz of liqueur is 2.4 to 3.0.

Q: Is a margarita stronger than a beer?

A: Yes, on both measures. A 12 oz beer at 5% ABV is one standard drink; a classic margarita is 1.6 to 2.0, in a glass half the size, at three to four times the ABV.

Q: Does a frozen margarita have less alcohol?

A: It has the same alcohol at a lower concentration. Blending the classic recipe with a cup of ice typically brings it to around 10 oz and the ABV down to about 10 to 12%, but the 0.95 to 1.2 oz of alcohol is all still there. A frozen margarita from a machine is whatever ratio the bar set.

Q: Does margarita mix contain alcohol?

A: No. Mix is the non-spirit part of the drink: lime, sweetener, sometimes orange, and the alcohol is added at the bar or at home. Ready-to-drink cans are the exception and can go either way, so read the panel. We cover the categories and what is in each in our non-alcoholic margarita mix guide.

Q: Can I make a margarita with less alcohol?

A: Yes, by measuring. Cut the tequila to 1 oz and swap the orange liqueur for ¼ oz of orange juice, and the classic falls to about two-thirds of a standard drink. Or build it on a non-alcoholic base and set the number yourself: an 8 oz can of Superclasico Margarita with a measured 1 oz of blanco tequila is a 9 oz margarita at about 4.4% ABV, two-thirds of a standard drink; 1½ oz is exactly one. The three pours are worked out in the table above. Without the tequila it is a non-alcoholic margarita.

Sources

• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, "What Is a Standard Drink?": 14 g / 0.6 fl oz of pure alcohol; beer, wine, and spirit equivalents.
• International Bartenders Association, official cocktail list, Margarita: 50 mL tequila 100% agave, 20 mL triple sec, 15 mL lime juice.
• Producer labels for orange liqueur ABV: triple sec ranges from about 15 to 40% by brand, most well bottlings at 15 to 30%; Cointreau at 40%.
• 27 CFR 5, TTB standards of identity for distilled spirits: agave spirits, including tequila, are bottled at or above 40% ABV.
• Dave Arnold, Liquid Intelligence: shaken drinks pick up roughly 50 to 60% of their starting volume in meltwater.
• Untappd for Business, "A Guide to a Standard Liquor Pour": the standard pour at most U.S. bars is 1.5 oz. Glass sizes (6 oz coupe to 16 or 20 oz schooner) are illustrative examples, not measurements of any one venue.

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