Cranberry Margarita Recipe on the Rocks | Pitcher Recipe

What comes after the pumpkin spice season? Cranberries! This beautiful seasonal berry shouldn’t be confined to a can of gelatinous sauce. In fact, it should make its debut before the holiday dinner table at cocktail hour instead.

When you think “margaritas” you probably picture Mexican food, a summer day or a tropical island vacation. Well, it’s time to expand your horizons with the changing seasons and with this cranberry margarita recipe that is just perfect for fall and the upcoming holiday season.

Cranberries lend themselves perfectly to the holidays and this cranberry margarita recipe balances tequila with seasonal cranberries perfectly! The tartness of the cranberry juice means you need a lot fewer limes and that means a lot less actual juicing on your part.

So why not go ahead and prepare an entire pitcher of this boozy holiday drink and call it a party? Be sure to start with 100% cranberry juice. A juice cocktail blend will contain more sugar and tend to muddle the flavors of your margarita.

Also, starting with a homemade simple syrup is so easy and it will really give your margarita a fresh flavor. You should expect to get 4 to 6 servings in this recipe depending on the size of your glasses.

The Ingredients

The first ingredient to an amazing cranberry margarita which is a must is cranberry juice. You can pick your favorite kind but 100% juice is best. But there is a bit of a twist though. You want to add some orange juice to help with the flavor and lime to tang things up a bit.

It could be hard to garnish with cranberries but not impossible. However, you could use an orange slice or lime slice for garnish. The second most important ingredient is the tequila. Some people don’t like using the expensive stuff for a mixed drink and that makes sense.

But you can use whatever tequila you want. We will use Casamigos Tequila for this recipe. 

Cranberry Margarita Recipe Directions

If you are making your simple syrup at home, bring 1 cup of water to a boil on the stove. Then remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of sugar. Continue to stir until all of the sugar is dissolved. Let cool.

Prepare your Margarita glasses by rubbing a lime wedge around the rim of the glass and then setting it onto a plate with the sugar and salt blend. Continue as needed. Set aside.

In a large pitcher, combine the cranberry juice, orange juice, lime juice, and simple syrup. Give it a quick stir before adding the tequila.

Then add the tequila and stir once more. Add the fresh cranberries to the pitcher. If you aren’t serving the margaritas immediately, store the pitcher in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to serve, simply add ice to each prepared glass, pour and cheers!

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