The holidays are meant for celebrating with friends and family. If getting together and sharing a fun and festive beverage is on your list of fun holiday activities, you are going to love this recipe which I’m sharing thanks to our sponsor, Lobos 1707 Tequila.
We’ve had some early snow and cold hit our area so I harvested what was left of my rosemary plant before it froze. Fresh rosemary is perfect for making a simple syrup that is the backbone of the flavor that makes this margarita perfect for the holidays. Making a simple syrup is actually quite, well, simple!
Take two cups of water, one cup of sugar and a bunch of fresh rosemary springs. If you don’t have your own plant, most grocery stores carry rosemary in with their other fresh herbs. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn down the heat to let it simmer for at least five minutes. Strain the mixture, cover and put in the fridge to cool.
Another key ingredient in any good margarita is a good tequila. I went with Lobos 1707 Joven which is a high-quality tequila that has an excellent balanced body and slight balsamic tones. If you’re interested in learning more about this or any of the other Lobos 1707 Tequilas, check out their products page. Lobos 1707 is available at many retailers including my local Otto’s Wine & Spirits.
You’ll also need to gather a few other ingredients including cranberry juice, limes, and sugar. If you’re feeling fancy or will be serving these at a party, a nice touch is making some ice cubes with cranberries frozen in them. A quick tip for those is to fill the ice cube trays half full, add the cranberries, freeze them and then add the rest of the water once the first layer has frozen. Cranberries tend to float and this method makes sure they are IN the ice cubes rather than sticking out of them.
To assemble the margarita, pour 1 part cranberry juice, 1 part rosemary simple syrup, 2 parts tequila and the juice of half of a large lime (or the juice of a whole small lime) into a container and shake well. Run a piece of the squeezed lime around the rim of a glass and dip in sugar to create a snowy-looking rim. Pour the drink into the glass and garnish with cranberries, a rosemary spring or a lime wedge.
If you are serving these at a party and want to really impress your guests, pick up some clear ornament balls and serve the drinks in those, allowing your guests to pour them over some cranberry ice in their glass. You will need a funnel to get the drink into the ornament (trust me!) and I personally recommend using plastic ornaments, just to be safe. I was able to find a good variety at my local Dollar Tree.
If you’d like to see a video of the process, check out my Instagram reel!
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