May is upon us and that means it’s almost time for Cinco de Mayo and margaritas!

Cointreau recently rolled out some new margarita recipes that are perfect for celebrating the holiday, introducing a variety of unique twists on the classic cocktail.

The new drinks include everything from the Classic Margarita to the Pineapple Chili Margarita to the Cointreau MargaDita, a seductive creation inspired by international burlesque queen and Cointreau brand ambassador, Dita Von Teese.

Pineapple Chili Margarita

Ingredients:

¾ oz Cointreau

1 ½ oz Silver tequila

¾ oz Fresh lime juice

2 oz Pineapple juice

Dash of Tabasco habanero

Directions: Fill shaker with first 5 ingredients and add ice. Shake vigorously and strain into ice-filled glass. Garnish with pineapple slice.

Garnish: Pineapple slice Glass: Highball/Long Drink.

Classic Margarita

Ingredients:

1 oz Cointreau

2 oz tequila

¾ oz Fresh lime juice

Directions: Shake and strain into a salt rimmed margarita glass

Garnish: Lime slice Glass: Margarita glass

National Margarita Day is on Wednesday, February 22, and Cointreau has launched some delectable new margarita recipes that are perfect for celebrating the holiday. As a key ingredient in the classic cocktail, Cointreau introduces a variety of unique twists on the festive drink.

Cointreau’s newest recipes, including everything from the Original Margarita to the Skinny Top Shelf Margarita to the Cointreau MargaDita, a seductive creation inspired by international burlesque queen and Cointreau brand ambassador, Dita Von Tesse.

Cointreau MargaDita

Ingredients:

1 oz. Cointreau

1 oz. Silver Tequila

1 oz. Fresh Lime Juice

Bar spoon of Monin Rose Syrup

1 pinch Chipotle Spice

Directions: Mix all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and pour into a chilled coup glass. Garnish with floating organic yellow rose petals. For an added kick, add a chipotle and salt rim.

Garnish: Yellow rose petals.

Glass: Martini Glass

Bemelmans Bar is launching this delicious vintage cocktail for guests and locals alike to celebrate their love at the famed Upper East Side watering hole. A colorful concoction made of Benedictine, Cognac, Cointreau and fresh lemon juice - it's a recipe to make your taste buds pop.

Featured as Bemelmans cocktail of the month for February, there isn't a more romantic setting to sit Between the Sheets and enjoy live jazz by Chris Gillespie each night of the week.

Between the Sheets Cocktail

1.5 oz V.S. Cognac

½ oz Benedictine

½ oz Cointreau

¾ oz fresh lemon juice

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a burnt orange peel.

Dita Von Teese, Cointreau® Brand Ambassador and International Queen of Burlesque, was in New York City last night for the official U.S. launch of “My Cointreau® Travel Essentials” - her latest limited-edition travel accessory. The stunning beauty, dressed in a black Herve L Leroux floor-length gown hosted a cocktail soiree at Forty Four at Royalton to introduce her vintage-inspired travel bar.

Presented in a chic, retro hatbox, the luxury coffret opens up to reveal a beautifully-refined mini bar that conveniently contains all the items needed to create original cocktails while jet setting around the globe.

Doning Christian Louboutin heels, elegant vintage earrings and a glamorous, oversized Dior ring, Von Teese sipped her signature cocktail, the Cointreau® MargaDita, posed for photos and chatted with guests, including Mr. Showbiz himself, Murray Hill, and 92-year-old style maven Ilona Smithkin, whom she was overheard exchanging style advice with.

Von Teese gushed to friends about her stay in New York City, beaming as she talked about acclaimed theater production “Sleep No More,” and sharing that she’d love to be cast as the nurse in an upcoming performance.

The star had such a great time at the party that she was one of the last to leave, jetting off to a late dinner with friends at the Graydon Carter's Monkey Bar.

Dita Von Teese, Cointreau® Brand Ambassador and International Queen of Burlesque officially launched her latest namesake cocktail, the Cointreau® MargaDita, in Dallas, Texas, last night with a sizzling summer soirée at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek.

Clad in a vibrantly-colored vintage dress accented with a flowing green and yellow sash, DIta completed her look by donning custom-made Christian Louboutin heels paired with a feathered purse by the same designer. Dita posed for photos with fans and spent the evening mingling with guests in the picturesque Promenade.

Over 150 party-goers were treated to delectable cocktails prepared by The Mansion Bar’s head mixologist Rocco Milano, including Dita’s signature drink, the Cointreau® MargaDita, as well as other Cointreau® sips - the original Side Car and the specially-created Deconstructed Cosmopolitan—molecular spheres of the traditional cocktail presented on a serving spoon.

In addition, guests enjoyed the evening with hors d’oeuvres of goat cheese-stuffed gougeres with piquillo and basil, smoked short rib tostadas with chipotle cream and cilantro and shrimp and spicy black bean skewers –which perfect complemented the spicy and sweet MargaDita.

After successful launches in New York City and Los Angeles, Dita Von Teese introduced her bold and seductive reinvention of the classic Margarita in Dallas as the cocktail is an homage to Margarita Sames, the bon vivante Dallas socialite who created the original recipe in 1948 while vacationing at her Acapulco cliffside hacienda.

The tasty new libation includes Cointreau®, tequila, fresh lime juice, aromatic Monin Rose Syrup for a hint of floral, feminine perfume, and a dash of chipotle powder for an unexpected smack. It is garnished with the yellow rose of Texas as a further tribute to Ms. Sames. According to Dita Von Teese, "The Cointreau® MargaDita is a tantalizing haute-cocktail with a spicy twist."

The Cointreau MargaDita is currently available at The Mansion Bar at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek for $15. Dita Von Teese continues her Dallas celebration this evening with a performance of her variety show “Burlesque: Strip Strip Hooray!” at the House of Blues® Dallas. Cointreau®

MargaDita Recipe

1 oz Cointreau ®

1 oz Silver Tequila

1 oz Fresh Lime Juice

1/2 oz Monin Rose Syrup

1 pinch Chipotle Spice

Mix all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and pour into a chilled coup glass. Garnish with Yellow Rose of Texas. For an added kick, add a chipotle and salt rim.

This year, there was no shortage of amazing films for the The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to choose from for their nominations. Among those selected, few are getting as much buzz as The King’s Speech, The Social Network, The Fighter and Black Swan. These films are already winners this awards season and are sure to pick up more trophies at the Oscars February 27th.

In celebration of this year’s Academy Awards BOMBAY SAPPHIRE, BENEDICTINE Liqueur, Dewar’s and Cointreau have teamed up to put together a few signature cocktails inspired by this year’s hottest films! They're perfect for serving during your Oscar viewing party!

The King’s Speech

Raise your glass to Colin Firth’s Golden Globe and SAG victories with this decidedly British cocktail. Made with Earl Grey tea and Bombay Sapphire, the quintessential London Dry Gin, this cocktail is worthy of a King.

Bombay Sapphire Royal Tea

2 oz. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Gin

1 oz. Earl Grey Tea Infused Simple Syrup

1 oz. Fresh lemon

1 oz. Egg white

¾ oz. Fresh lemon juice

½ Rock Candy

2 Dashes orange bitters Topped with a Bitter Orange Espuma*

Combine gin, tea infused simple syrup and lemon juice in a shaker over ice, shake vigorously. Double strain into a tea cup. Beat espuma mix until thick and foamy, spoon into tea cup, on top of Sapphire mixture. Put a pinch of tea leaves in center, garnish with a stick of orange bitters rock candy on the side of the tea saucer.

The Social Network

Created by Boston mixologist Scott Marshall of Drink, this coffee-infused Benedictine cocktail is the perfect drink to fuel those long nights spent hacking into the Harvard computer network.

The All-Nighter

2 ½ oz. Rye Whiskey

½ oz. Benedictine Liqueur

Muddled fresh coffee beans

Build in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and stir. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

The Fighter

Toast to two Knock-out performances from Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg, in this year’s The Fighter with a Dewar’s 12 cocktail that packs a punch, yet evokes passion. Watch as the film dukes it out for Oscar gold.

Blood & Sand

2 oz Dewar's

12 Blended Scotch Whiskey

1 oz cherry liqueur 1 oz red (sweet) vermouth

1 oz fresh squeezed orange juice

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Black Swan

In one of the best performances of the year, toast Natalie Portman’s startling character portrayal in this psychological thriller. Follow her swirl of brilliance and insanity from White Swan to Black Swan, while drinking cocktails to match. Begin with the White Lady in its classic and purest form and end with the dark and deliciously menacing Cointreau Noir in Black Ice.

The White Lady

1 oz. Cointreau

2 oz. Gin

3/4 oz. Lemon juice

Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Black Ice

3 oz. Cointreau Noir

Ice cubes

Pour over ice and enjoy!