Christmas Cocktails: This Holiday Margarita Recipe was inspired by my Great-Grandmother’s homemade Christmas Punch. I have combined her recipe with the margarita base from my all time favorite taco restaurant to make the perfect Holiday party drink – The best Holiday Margarita.

If you loved this recipe from December, make sure to try out my new Citrus Mint Mocktail Recipe for Dry-January too!

Half “Apple Cider but Better”

Growing up, my great grandmother had a certain drink that she made every Christmastime. We had many names for it but usually referred to it as either “Christmas Punch” or “Christmas Tea”. To this day, nothing tastes more like Christmas to me than that drink does. It’s warm and cozy with a little spice. The best way that I can describe it is “apple cider but better”.

Half “the best margarita base”

When my husband and I first got married we lived down the road from the best, and I really mean the best (I’m not just being dramatic) taco restaurant that I have ever been to. The tacos were amazing but the margaritas were truly phenomenal. They had over 20 flavor combinations for their homemade margaritas and to this day I have yet to try one that I didn’t fully savor. I’m not much of a spicy margarita girl, but even their Jalapeño Pineapple Margarita hit it out of the park for me.

This restaurant became our favorite date night spot, and one evening my husband pointed out that they always used the same lime base for each one of their margaritas. What really made it stand out though was how fresh it was. They didn’t make their base ahead of time and store it in a cooler. They used fresh limes and fresh simple syrup with every margarita and I am here to tell you: you really can taste the difference. Once I got this down, I started experimenting with new flavors every so often.

Christmas Cocktails: The Best Holiday Margarita

With Christmas time coming up, and my great-grandmother’s Christmas Punch on my mind, I decided to blend two of my favorite memories in flavors together to create the perfect Christmas Cocktail: A Holiday Margarita. This is so easy to make and I am sure that you are going to love the freshness of the margarita base paired with the coziness of the “apple cider but better”. Give this recipe a try and if you like it be sure to check out some of my other popular recipes!

How to make the perfect Christmas Cocktails: Holiday Margarita Recipe

Juice the Limes

Start by juicing fresh limes. You want to look for large limes that have a smooth skin. These ones are usually less bitter and fresher tasting. Juice about 1/2 cup and set aside.

Make Simple Syrup and add remaining Ingredients

So, this is more of an “almost” simple syrup. You are going to combine equal part of water and sugar, but once the sugar is melted completely, you will immediately add in the other ingredients and only boil for 1 minute instead of allowing to simmer and thicken.

For the other ingredients…

I like to use fresh squeezed orange juice for this margarita; however, “high pulp” orange juice works just as well.

For the apple juice, any apple juice works well. I’ve even subbed it for apple cider for even more depth of flavor

For the cranberry juice- This is where you can really switch things up. Normally I reach for the classic Ocean Spray cranberry juice but that’s mainly just for the nostalgic flavors. If you prefer your drinks more tart over sweet, pure and unsweetened cranberry juice is the best option. This is usually found as a concentrate so I would cut it with water. I have also used diet cranberry juice to save calories and the Ocean Spray carbonated cranberry juice to add some bubbles.

For the spices- Ground spices tend to settle but I haven’t had any issues and long as the margarita is mixed in a shaker before pouring. These add so much warmth and coziness to this Christmas Cocktail.

Allow Holiday Margarita Mix to cool.

Allow the holiday margarita mix to cool completely and then transfer to an airtight container. This mixture can be saved for up to a week in the fridge but it really shines it’s brightest when served fresh.

Holiday Margarita Recipe

Recipe by Madison Hanson

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: DrinksDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Calories

105

kcal

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Water
4 oz Orange Juice
4 oz Pure Cranberry Juice
4 oz Fresh Lime Juice
0.5 Tsp Ground Cloves
0.5 Tsp Cinnamon
Per Drink:
1.5 oz Tequila
0.5 oz Orange Liqueur

Directions for the mix

In a sauce pan on medium heat, combine sugar and water and stir until the sugar has all melted.
Add in the juices and spices and bring to a boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Store the holiday margarita mix in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
To Make the Margarita
In a glass combine tequila, orange liqueur, and 4 oz of the homemade holiday margarita mix.
Serve blended or over ice.

Notes

The holiday margarita mix should make about 20 oz. This is enough for 5 drinks.
Nutrition Facts are an estimate and will vary based on brand of ingredients and program used to calculate them.

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Nutrition Facts

5 servings per container

Serving Size1 servings

Amount Per ServingCalories105
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 0g 0%
- Saturated Fat 0g 0%
- Trans Fat 0g
Total Carbohydrate 28g 10%
- Sugars 26g
Protein 0g 0%

* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

I hope you enjoy this Christmas Cocktail. Check out my Williams Sonoma Copycat Peppermint Bark Recipe for more holiday flavors!