Step 1

On a dish or cutting board, pour and flatten a pile of coarse salt like sea salt or Kosher salt. Don’t use table salt, as it will clump up and make your drink very salty.

Step 2

Cut a lime in half. Reserve one half for the margarita and cut the remaining half into two wedges. Run a lime wedge along the entire rim of the glass. Be sure it’s wet enough so the salt can stick.

Step 3

Invert your glass and press into the salt so it sticks to the rim.

Step 4

Place the salted glass upright into the refrigerator to chill as you mix up your margarita.

Step 5

Pour the sugar into a deep sauce pan.

Step 6

Pour the water over the sugar.

Step 7

Place sugar mixture on the stove and set the heat to medium-high.

Step 8

Use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture constantly so the sugar dissolves faster.

Step 9

Once the sugar completely dissolves, remove from the heat.

Step 10

Pour the syrup into a container. You should end up with about one cup of natural syrup. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the syrup for the margarita. Cover and store the rest for another use. The syrup will keep for up to three days.

Step 11

Add ice cubes to a cocktail shaker. If you have big pieces, you can bang them on a hard surface to break them up a bit, but you do want to keep the pieces on the larger side. Ice that’s too small will quickly melt and water down your drink.

Step 12

Squeeze the juice from 1 1/2 limes into a small cup or bowl and remove any seeds. Pour the fresh lime juice into the shaker.

Step 13

Next add the sweetener, tequila and triple sec.

Step 14

Place the top back on your shaker and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds to combine.

Step 15

Remove the chilled cocktail glass from the refrigerator.

Step 16

Carefully pour the contents of the shaker into the glass, including the ice.

Step 17

Garnish with a slice of lime.