Brittany Kellum of Fin & Fino adds a dash of grapefruit to her margaritas. Kristen Wile/UP

We’re certain many of you will be shaking up margaritas on Cinco de Mayo. The holidays falls on Sunday this year, meaning lots of day drinking. Ever notice how that nasty, lime green sour mix makes you feel horrible the next day? Minimize hangover impacts and maximize your drink flavor with these margarita hacks from Charlotte bartenders. —Kristen Wile

Brittany Kellum, Fin & Fino
Her hack: Adding orange and grapefruit juices. Her recipe calls for the juice of a fresh lime, fresh lemon, half of an orange, and a dash of grapefruit juice, with a splash of simple syrup and some pink salt shaken in with your favorite tequila.

Dustin Lail
His hack: Lail prefers to use mezcal in his margaritas. “The smoky notes create a nice complexity,” he says. His mezcal marg recipe ingredients: 1.5 oz. Vida mezcal, 1 oz. lime juice, ¾ oz. Cointreau, ½ oz. rosemary syrup, 2 dashes orange bitters. Combine everything in a shaker, shake to chill, and strain over fresh ice in a glass with a kosher salt rim. To make the rosemary syrup, bring 4 cups sugar and 4 cups water to a boil, then add 14 grams of fresh rosemary and a pinch of salt. Let simmer for 30 minutes, then strain and cool.

Brian Lorusso
His hack: Lorusso recommends using a reposado tequila in margaritas. “Lunazul and Milagro have great tequilas for the price point of hosting friends for the 5th of May festivities,” he says. Another pro tip: Salt your glasses in advance using Himalayan pink salt or a high quality sea salt. For the best salt rim, cut a piece of citrus in half, then cut the bottom off so it sits flat on a cutting board. Rub the rim of a Collins glass against the flesh of the fruit to dampen it, then dip the rim into a container of salt. Gently tap to let the exess fall off. Doing this at least an hour before adding your margarita mix will keep the salt from falling off.

Amanda Britton, Lincoln Street Kitchen & Cocktails
Her hack: Upgrade your salt. “I love playing with salts,” she says. Strawberry salt is one Britton’s created to amp up her drinks. “It’s also a functional garnish that will help dress up a simple cocktail.”

Stefan Huebner, Dot Dot Dot
His hack: Serve a Tommy’s margarita, an early-’90s California invention. There’s no orange liqueur in this take, instead favoring agave syrup. The drink is served short. “It doesn’t have time to get watered down,” Huebner says.