Tell me who doesn’t want a white Christmas? Whether you’re in a cold weather state where you may actually see a white Christmas or if you are somewhere where snow only comes if you make it, this White Christmas Holiday Margarita will be a hit and leave no person disappointed. This tequila and coconut based margarita is a combination of silver tequila, coconut water, coconut milk, lime juice, pomegranate and cranberries. Literally taking a look at it, you’ll immediately feel the Christmas spirit and will be asking for another one as soon as you finish.
WHITE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY MARGARITA
Margaritas tend to be a fan favorite, but many of us tend to think that margaritas are specifically for enjoying in the summer season. I will admit that over the years, I’ve made margaritas in the summer to serve to my friends and family such as my Rose Pear Margarita, but I soon realized that people don’t only like tequila just in the summer. They like tequila throughout the year. So this year, I decided to not restrict myself to typical spirits that I usually use during the holiday season and make a Christmas margarita that I knew people would love.
Now this margarita still maintains elements of the classic margarita like many margarita recipes usually do. It contains some light citrus elements through the lime while also using agave syrup to bring in the margarita taste. But in the end, this is a Christmas margarita recipe, so it needs to taste like Christmas
Making the HOLIDAY MARGARITA
CREATING SUGARED CRANBERRIES
One of the garnishes used for this margarita is sugared cranberries. And this is the one element that you’ll wan to prep ahead of time for this Christmas margarita unless you can find sugared cranberries in your grocery store which tend to be a huge rarity. Sugared cranberries are quite simple to make, it just takes little time. I recommend making your sugared cranberries the day before so that the sugar and fully set overtop the cranberries.
All you’ll need is fresh cranberries, sugar, and water. Simply follow these steps: 1) Add a one cup of water to a pot and put on the stove (there is an instant pot method but I found the stovetop way to be more effective); 2) Add a half cup of sugar to the water and turn stove on and bring the mixture to a boil. Make sure to stir throughout so the sugar does not sit at the bottom; 3) When boiling remove sugared water mixture from heat and add cranberries and stir; 4) Let the cranberries sit in the water for about 5 minutes and then remove and lay out on parchment paper to dry.
Once you have your sugared cranberries made, you can use them for this holiday cocktail along with others. I typically make a batch and use the sugared cranberries for a Cranberry Holiday Moscato and for cranberry mimosas.
Also, as another little note, the steps above is also a way to make homemade simple syrup – just don’t add the cranberries and let the water fully coo then store.
RIMMING YOUR GLASS
When you see a margarita, it’s typically rimmed with sugar or margarita salt. Since this margarita is on the sweeter side, I would recommend sugar, but you want to go with another alternative, you can also rim your glass with shredded coconut.
To rim your glass, dip your glass in lime juice, shake off any excess juice and then dip in your sugar or shredded coconut. Let the glass sit on the side to let the rim set before pouring in your cocktail mixture. I also recommend rimming your glasses before you mix your cocktail so that your glass can set while you are making your drink versus making the drink and letting it die as it sits and waits for your glasses to set.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT TEQUILA FOR YOUR MARGARITA
Your main ingredient in a margarita is tequila, but you may be asking yourself whether to use gold or silver tequila. The difference between the two is that silver or Blanco tequila is aged less than gold tequila and usually has a smoother taste. Gold tequila, since it’s aged longer, typically has a stronger taste which then may mask the flavors of the margarita that you’re trying to make.
For this Christmas margarita, you’ll want to use silver tequila so that the coconut flavor and the subtle hints of elderflower and pomegranate are still able to be tasted and not overpowered by the tequila. With that being said, you may be also asking which silver tequila is preferred for this holiday margarita. I recommend using Patron Silver or Don Julio. They are my favorite silver tequila brands before they are both smooth and mix well to make different flavors of margaritas.
MAKING THE COCKTAIL
This Christmas margarita recipe is one that is easy to make once you have all of the ingredients prepared and ready to go. You’ll simply add all of the ingredients together in a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake, add to a glass, top with coconut water, add more pomegranate perils, then serve. Once you have added your cocktail mixture to your rimmed glass, you’ll then want to garnish your cocktail.
For this White Christmas Margarita, I garnished the drink with the sugared cranberries and a sprig of rosemary. For me, the rosemary spring gives an aroma that the drinker can smell when they tip the glass to start drinking. Since we tend to taste first with our noses, the aroma will immediately put the drinker in the festive, holiday winter wonderland before they even taste the drink.
If you are looking for other types of garnishes, you can also just garnish with fresh pomegranates or a lime wedge. The green and red colors that we all see around December will become super evident and it’ll literally look like a drink that Santa sips when he needs a little cocktail.
