This Cranberry Margarita is a sweet, seasonal spin on the classic tequila cocktail. With bright, tart cranberry juice and smooth tequila, this is the perfect drink to serve during the holiday season—it’s bound to make for a very festive happy hour! Make the cocktail individually or batch them for a crowd. With just a few classic margarita ingredients plus the addition of tart cranberry juice, this cocktail doesn’t require any specialty liqueurs or syrups and can be shaken up in just minutes.
I’m a huge margarita fan. I’ve shared countless margs and tequila cocktails in my Cocktail Friday social media series over the years. They’re the perfect combination of sweet and tart, and this Cranberry Margarita is a fun and festive spin on the traditional version.
If you’re a seasonal cocktail lover like me, be sure to mix up a few of my other cranberry cocktails too. This refreshing Cranberry Gin Cocktail is simple and smooth, and my Cranberry Sangria is a wintery twist on the traditional drink. Just gorgeous!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This Cranberry Margarita is the perfect seasonal drink to sip on. Here’s why I’ll be making it throughout the holiday season.
- Quick and Easy. With just a few ingredient—most of which you probably already have on hand—you can mix and serve up this drink in minutes.
- Make-Ahead Cocktail. You can even make this drink ahead of time, so all you have to do is pour when you’re ready to serve.
- Familiar yet new. The best recipes are those that take something familiar and revamp it a bit. Tart cranberry juice gives the cocktail insanely vibrant color and that quintessential tartness a great margarita requires.
Ingredients
For The Sugared Rim
- Turbinado Sugar: Sweet, coarse and crunchy, the larger granules have a nice texture and sweet flavor.
- Ground Cinnamon: Adds a warm and spice to the rim.
- Nutmeg: Slightly nutty and woody, this pairs nicely with the cinnamon for a warm, spiced flavor. I generally prefer to freshly grate nutmeg, but for the rim of a cocktail I actually recommend pre-ground because it’s super fine and mixes wonderfully with the sugar and cinnamon.
For The Drink
- Cranberry Juice: make sure you use 100% unsweetened cranberry juice. Orange liqueur will add all the sweetness you need. The cranberry juice should only add tartness.
- Tequila: I like reposado for this cocktail, though you can really use whatever tequila you have on hand.
- Orange Liqueur: Citrusy-sweet orange flavor. We recommend Cointreau, triple sec, or Grand Marnier.
- Limes: A bit of lime juice is still needed—cranberry juice is tart but lime is still needed for that extra acidic kick. And fresh is always best!
How To Make a Cranberry Margarita
For The Sugared Rim
- In a shallow plate, mix together the turbinado sugar, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Run a lime wedge around the rim of a rocks glass, then dip it into the sugar mixture.
For The Margarita
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the cranberry juice, tequila, and orange liqueur. Shake until well combined.
- Add ice to the rimmed cocktail glass and strain the mixture over the ice. Garnish with fresh cranberries.
Expert Tips
This Cranberry Margarita is as easy to make as it is to enjoy, but here are a few pointers to make sure it’s shaken up to perfection.
- Chill Ingredients Ahead of Time. Chill the cranberry juice ahead of time, this will cut down on the overall dilution (you want more! just not too much).
- Use Unsweetened Cranberry Juice. This will give the drink the most cranberry-forward flavor, and allows you to control how sweet the drink is. Avoid juices that are made from a variety of fruits and don’t use any juice with sugar added.
- Try Different Tequilas. Experiment with different tequilas for different flavors. The reposado we suggest using here is nice and mellow, but you could always try a silver tequila that would be a bit more crisp.
Make a Large Batch Ahead of Time
This is a great cocktail to have on hand and ready to pour. Here’s how we recommend batching and storing it.
- Batching: for a pitcher of 8 margaritas, combine 24 ounces cranberry juice, 16 ounces tequila, 8 ounces orange liqueur and ¼ teaspoon salt in a pitcher or large jar.
- Storing: Cover the pitcher tightly with plastic and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. This can be made up to 1 day ahead of time.
FAQs
Cranberry juice is a great mixer for tequila, the sweetness and tartness compliment the warm, almost spicy notes in the tequila for a nice and balanced overall flavor.
A variety of alcohols mix well with cranberry juice. We especially love smooth, almost spicy tequila with cranberry juice, and vodka paired with cranberry juice makes for a very refreshing low-cal bev. I also love a cranberry and gin moment.
Both work, but cointreau has a cleaner, deeper citrusy-orange flavor that pairs well with tequila and lime juice. Triple sec works too, but has been known to have a slightly more artificially sweet taste.
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Cranberry Margarita
Description
Ingredients
Sugared Rim
- ¼ cup turbinado sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
One Margarita
- 3 ounces 100% unsweetened cranberry juice
- 2 ounces reposado tequila
- 1 ounce orange liqueur
- pinch kosher salt
- ice, for serving
- optional garnishes: fresh cranberries, lime wedges, rosemary sprig, sage leaves
Batch of 8 Margaritas
- 24 ounces 100% unsweetened cranberry juice
- 16 ounces reposado tequila
- 8 ounces orange liqueur
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Sugared Rim
- In a shallow plate, combine turbinado sugar, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Run a lime wedge around rim of rocks glass(es). Dip into sugar mixture and set aside. (Double the sugar rim ingredients if you plan to make a batch of 8 margaritas.)
One Margarita
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add 3 ounces cranberry juice, 2 ounces tequila, 1 ounce orange liqueur and pinch of salt. Shake until thoroughly chilled.
- Add ice to rimmed cocktail glass and strain cocktail over ice into glass. Garnish with fresh cranberries and serve immediately.
Batch of 8 Margaritas
- In a large pitcher, mix together 24 ounces cranberry juice, 16 ounces tequila, 8 ounces orange liqueur and ¼ teaspoon salt in a pitcher or large jar.
- Cover and chill until ready to serve. Give it one more stir then pour into ice-filled rocks glasses and garnish as desired.
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