It's never too early to get a jump start on those warm summer vibes, so when National Margarita Day rolls around on February 22 each year, we couldn't be more ready. The Toad team loves a good marg (seriously, catch our CEO Gordon whipping up a pitcher at any campout, happy hour, or our annual Grilled Cheese Smackdown), and while we love a classic recipe, we're all for trying new variations on the original now and then too. 

Here are three recent Toad favorite recipes, inspired by trying to make our extra time at home as fun as possible – plus endless hours on our hands for testing, tasting, and testing again.

Coconut Washed Blood Orange Margarita

Mixed up by Kyle, Head of Product and Design

What you'll need:

• 3 oz coconut washed Tequila Reposado (coconut oil washing method below. You'll want to prep this in advance)
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 3/4 oz agave
• 1-2 slices of blood orange (muddled)

How to make it:

1. Put all ingredients in a shaker.
2. Add ice and shake it up.
3. Strain into glass with salted rim.
4. Garnish with a slice of blood orange.
5. Sit in your backyard with a beach towel and a sun hat and pretend you're somewhere tropical.

Coconut oil washing method:

1. Warm a couple of spoonfuls of coconut oil in a pan until it liquifies. 
2. Pour tequila and liquified coconut oil into a container and shake well.
3. Let container sit at room temp for an hour.
4. Move container to the freezer for a couple of hours.
5. After the mixture has chilled, you should be able to easily remove solidified oil from the top of the tequila. 
6. Strain tequila to remove any sediments that didn't solidify.
7. Ready to drink or mix into your favorite cocktail. Bonus points: Now oyu have tequila essenced coconut oil that you can repurpose. 

The Quarantinarita

Mixed up by Daisy, Copywriter Extraordinaire  

What you'll need:

• 1 oz (standard shot glass) simple syrup (buy it ready to go, or follow recipe below)
• 2 oz tequila
• 1 cap-full of Aperol (about 1.5 Tbsp)
• Juice of 1 orange
• Juice of 1/2 blood orange
• Bubbly water (La Croix, Topo Chico, Soda Stream, whatever you've got)
• Orange slices for garnish

How to make it:

1. Put simple syrup, tequila, Aperol, orange juice, and blood orange juice in a shaker.
2. Fill shaker with ice and shake the living daylights out of it.
3. Pour over ice and fill to the brim with bubbly water. 
4. Garnish with a slice of blood orange for extra fancy pants points.
5. Enjoy responsibly and "air cheers" your neighbors.

Basic simple syrup:

1. Combine 1 cup water and 1 cup granulated white sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Simmer for 3 minutes until the sugar dissolves.
3. Cool immediately.
4. Store in the fridge for up to a month or freeze forever. 

Spicy & Simple Margarita

Mixed up by Christina, Marketing Manager

What you'll need:

• 3 oz jalapeño-infused tequila (Easy, peasy. Combine a bottle of your favorite tequila with 2 or more sliced jalapeños, depending on preferred level of spice. Set at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, up to several days. Strain.)
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• Splash of fresh orange juice
• 1/4 oz (or more, to taste) orange liqueur, like Grand Marnier or Triple Sec

How to make it:

1. Combine jalapeño-infused tequila, fresh lime juice, and splash of orange juice in a shaker.
2. Add ice and shake it like a Polaroid picture.
3. Pour over glass with a salted rim (get fancy with Chili Lime Salt if you're feeling extra spicy).
4. Add orange liqueur floater.
5. Pairs best with chips and guacamole or queso for a guaranteed good time.

 Well would you look at that, it's margarita-o-clock.