Margarita lovers looking for a ready-to-drink option that’s USDA organic, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free, and kosher will find a worthy candidate in Drake’s Organic Boxtails Perfect Margarita. Eschewing all things artificial, Drake’s Organic boxes up this ready-made marg with a blend of Drake’s Organic Tequila, triple sec, and fresh citrus juice.

Coming in at a boozier-than-usual 12% abv — relative to the 6-8% range for many RTD margs we’ve sampled — Drake’s hits the nose with the solid backbone of its organic tequila. It’s relatively dry, by which I mean none-too-sweet, and compares well to many skinny margaritas on the market. In a category dominated by fluorescent green jugs, Drake’s presents a very pale, almost clear appearance in the glass, and lets its natural fruit juices handle the flavoring their own way.

If you like your margaritas spare and tequila-forward, this au natural cocktail is well worth a sip. Opinions on what makes for a “perfect” margarita vary widely, and Drake’s has clearly made its case in naming this one. For my taste, its nose delivered a bit of a solventy acetone aroma on raising the glass, but that quickly subsided and gave way to more pleasant grassy, herbal notes that gradually enhanced the natural sweetness of the citrus fruits, so this one grew on me sip after sip. Nevertheless, the fairly spartan profile left me longing for a squeeze of fresh lime, a drop of agave nectar, and a pinch of salt to balance things out.

12% abv.

B- / $20 per 1.75-liter box / drakesorganic.com

Drake’s Organic Boxtails Perfect Margarita

$20

7

Rating

7.0/10

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