These drinks look so festive on the holiday table, and the tangy cranberries keep the sweetness from being cloying in this cranberry margarita. It is said that the first margarita was created in 1938 by Mexican mixologist Don Carlos Orozco. We think he would have approved of this riff on his world-renowned classic. Salud!
About the Margarita
The margarita’s exact origins are a little murky. The word margarita in Spanish means “daisy,” and cocktail historian David Wondrich theorized that the margarita is an evolution of the “brandy daisy,” a 19th century cocktail. A “daisy” is a type of cocktail that includes a base spirit, liqueur, and citrus, as a margarita does. Carlos “Danny” Herrera of Rancho La Gloria once alleged that he invented it for a Ziegfeld dancer who was allergic to most spirits, but not tequila. But The San Diego Reader then denied that this was true. Don Carlos Orozco, as mentioned above, claimed he invented the drink and named it after a glamorous patron at his bar, socialite Margarita Henkel Ceseno.
There are countless other origin stories, from Texas to Tijuana. One thing is for sure: the margarita is a drink for all times of year. Cheryl Alters Jamison’s cranberry margarita is a delicious winter take on this ever-popular drink.
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Cranberry Margarita
- Yield: Serves 6
Description
Who says margaritas have to be a summer drink?
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp sparkling sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 lime, sliced in 8 wedges
- 1½ cups fresh cranberries
- 1½ cups sweetened cranberry juice
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
- ¾ cup silver tequila
- ½ cup Cointreau, Triple Sec, or other orange-flavored liqueur
- 2 generous cups cracked ice cubes
Instructions
- Pour sparkling sugar onto a saucer. Rub the rim of each glass with a lime wedge, rub the rim of each glass, then dunk in the sparkling sugar.
- Set aside a dozen of the nicest cranberries for garnish. Puree cranberries, cranberry juice, granulated sugar, lime juice, tequila, Cointreau, and ice in a blender. Pour into the glasses.
- Garnish with cranberries and a lime wedge. Serve right away.
Recipe by Cheryl Alters Jamison
Photography by Dave Bryce
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