How To Tell If Margarita Mix Has Gone Bad

For some people, there's nothing quite like a refreshing margarita on a hot summer afternoon — even better if it happens to be a frozen margarita, with all its slushy goodness. Margaritas may be the most popular cocktail in the United States, according to BinWise, but not everyone can polish off several bottles of margarita mix in one sitting, at least when it's not Cinco de Mayo. If you're in that group and you just discovered a bottle or two of margarita mix in your pantry or fridge, you might be wondering if it's still good to use.

You don't recall how long you've had the bottles for, so you look for the use-by date, which hasn't yet passed. However, those use-by dates are only an indication of how long the margarita mix is expected stay at the best quality, and not necessarily how long it's safe to consume. Which is why it's important to know the signs of spoilage. Not only do you not want to get sick, but why would you want to waste good tequila on bad margarita mix?

There are basically three ways to tell if your margarita mix has gone bad and should be dumped out, according to Still Tasty. One, if it has an odd smell. Fresh margarita mix has a nice mix of sweet and sour notes. If your margarita mix smells too sour, or otherwise smells off, it might have gone bad. Two, if there are any changes to the appearance, like discoloration or particles in the mix, it's best to throw it out. Lastly, if the flavor has changed, it's best to throw it out. You can try a little sip and if it doesn't taste right, get rid of it. Even if that margarita mix isn't bad in the sense that it will make you sick, it would still be a waste of good tequila to mix it with a margarita mix whose flavors have changed.

If your margarita mix is still good, but you're not sure for how much longer, use it up, even if you don't plan to drink it just yet. You can mix up margaritas in advance — while regular margaritas are only good for around three days in the fridge, frozen margaritas will stay good in the freezer for up to two weeks, provided you used enough tequila to make it.