How To Salt A Margarita Glass - You're Doing It Wrong All Wrong

If you've ever enjoyed a restaurant-style margarita, you've likely noticed that it almost always comes with a salted rim. The margarita rim serves two purposes: appearance and flavor. It dresses up the drink, but it also enhances each sip. While the rim is usually made from coarse salt, different variations of the drink warrant different flavor pairings, so you might see a rim made from sugar, Tajín, or something else.

However, there are some dos and don'ts to follow when it comes to building the perfect margarita rim. Craft bartender Kamaron Lockwood offers up his expertise on the right and wrong way to salt a rim in this "You're Doing It All Wrong" video. Before you even dip your glass in the salt, you have to have a few things ready to go: the proper glass for making sure the salt can properly adhere, the best adhesive for getting the salt to stick, and the right kind of salt. Hint: Your household salt shaker is probably holding the wrong kind.

To get the perfect rim, you need a glass where the salt can evenly coat the entire rim. "There aren't any rules to this," Lockwood ensures. You can use any kind of cocktail glass such as a Collins glass, as Lockwood did, or a margarita glass. Even an acrylic cup would work. You might want to consider something with a smooth edge just to make sure the salt adheres evenly.

The biggest rule comes with deciding which type of salt to use. Lockwood suggests keeping your salt selection simple. He uses kosher salt and suggests using something that's a bit coarse, but you can use a different variety if needed. Sea salt or pink Himalayan salt are other fun coarse options. Lockwood advises not to use regular table salt, also referred to as iodized salt, which might be what's in your kitchen shaker. It's much finer than coarse kosher or sea salt. "It doesn't really have the same mouthfeel," he says.

Since you'll likely be using coarse salt, those larger salt flakes need a little more adhesive in order to stick. While water might work for a finer salt, you'll want something stickier (like a fruit juice) for thicker salt. "The reason why we're going to use lime juice is because it's an easy way to get a nice, even coat of salt," Lockwood says. "It'll stick."

Lockwood also likes how thin of a liquid the lime juice is because it's easier to clean off of the rim than a thicker, more syrup-like texture. "I don't personally like to use [simple syrup] because I feel like it makes it really hard to clean the glass afterwards, and nobody wants to have extra work."

Using a shallow bowl of lime juice, dip the glass — Lockwood says you should coat just the top 1/16 inch of the glass in the juice. Then, dip it right in the salt, and give it a little turn to ensure the rim is fully, evenly coated. There is room to modify the rim however you want; just adjust the depth of the lime juice and amount of salt as desired. "You can go a little bit wider; you can go a little bit heavier; Feel free to get carried away," Lockwood says.

If you want to mix things up with your drink rims, you can always get creative or make changes based on your preferences. To start, if you don't love salt or are making a drink where salt isn't the best complement, you can use other ingredients for the rim, too. If you're making a flavored margarita with any fruit, then a sugar rim might be best. But if you're building a smokier mezcal margarita or even making a spicy margarita, then Tajín — a blend of dried chiles, lime, and salt — will complement it in all the right ways.

Lockwood also stresses that you don't always have to do a full rim of your seasoning; A half rim is also a great option. He explains, "It's another way to give somebody that experience, but they also don't have to have that saltiness, that spiciness, that sweetness in every single sip."

To do a half-rim, just cut a slit down the center of a lime wedge, and put the lime wedge over the glass. Then, move the lime around half of the rim a few times, which will release enough juice to help the seasoning stick. After, coat it the same way you would with a full rim.

No matter the rim you choose, remember to use a smooth glass, a sticky liquid, and have fun adding as much salt or seasoning as you want. When you stick to these tricks, you can salt any margarita glass to perfection.