Why a Margarita needs three things in balance: the spec and a tart-to-sweet dial

A Margarita is tequila, orange liqueur and lime, shaken cold. It sounds simple, yet most bad ones get the balance wrong: too sweet, or too little lime.

The lime holds the sweetness back, and the shake adds the water that softens the rest. Here is the IBA spec, the common 2:1:1 and Tommy's agave version, plus a note on the disputed origin. Drag the sliders to see how the balance, strength and glass fill change, and scale it to any number of drinks.