Martha Stewart's Salt Rims Make Margaritas Look Too Good To Drink (Almost)

It's no mystery why the margarita remains America's favorite cocktail. With tequila's boozy kick, orange liqueur's citrusy sweetness, and the balancing brightness of tart lime, margaritas are simple, refreshing, and delicious. A salted rim just amplifies the whole experience. Salty rims upgrade cocktails because salt quiets notes of bitterness while playing up sweetness. Each sip of a margarita delivers with saltiness that keeps us coming back for more, tempered by bright acidity and sweetness. 

You don't have to stop there, though: There are ways to boost your margarita game with perfected salt rims. And it's no surprise that a certain cooking and entertaining icon has a few ideas on how. Of Martha Stewart's many helpful cocktail-making tips, leveled-up salt rims have grown into an entire category of genius flavor pops and eye-catching finishing touches. 

Stewart proves just how infinite the possibilities are for enhancing salted rims with other herbs and spices that weave into any margarita's riff flavor profile. For example, her lemon mezcal margarita calls for a rim of both flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. This combination perfectly complements mezcal's smoky profile as well as the sweet and sour acidity of the lemon — think of the classic lemon pepper combination and how well the spice and citrus work together. You can use the same easy way to salt any cocktail rim here: Pour salt and pepper on a plate, moisten the glass' rim with a lemon wedge, then dip it into the salt and pepper.

In another margarita variation, Stewart employs mint and serrano chile. These ingredients add to the drink's sweet, tart profile with smokiness, spice, and heat tempered by fresh herbaceousness. For a rim that ties all of that together, Stewart mixes sumac into flaky sea salt or pink salt. Himalayan pink salt elevates any margarita with intense flavor and its pretty hue, and sumac punches this drink's profile up with lemony, earthy brightness.

Stewart keeps her rim classic to balance the boldly fruity profile of her pomegranate margarita – but the key takeaway here is to always use a nice, chunky, flaky sea salt to achieve that visual interest for your rims. It adds texture and creates a contrast for the drink's own color. 

To ante up on your margaritas' salted rims, get to know the many different varieties of salt. The options don't end at flaky sea salt or pink salt — try smoked salt for a spicy marg or introduce that hint of savoriness to a fruitier take like a watermelon mezcal margarita. Further opening up the possibilities, you can make your own flavored salt at home. Add in dried flowers like lavender, citrus zest, or even liquids like red wine or espresso by reducing them, mixing them with the salt, and letting them dry. Naturally, you can incorporate just about anything already ground — garlic, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, rosemary, thyme, sage, curry powder, coriander, and more.