blood orange margarita

Blood orange margaritas are absolute stunners. Their deep ruby color grabs your attention, but the sweet-tart, juicy taste keeps you coming back for more! 

Believe it or not, we worked through a lot of blood orange margaritas to get to this final version. Sometimes the simplest recipes are the more difficult to get right. We wanted a margarita that really popped with blood orange flavor, which was surprisingly tricky.

Some versions were overpowered by the lime, some were drowning in orange liqueur, others were too hot or too cloying. So we tweaked and tested and revised until we finally arrived at a gem of a recipe. 

This blood margarita recipe that we're sharing is richly flavored, just tart enough to be refreshing (but not a lime bomb), and filled with undertones of earthy agave and that beautiful floral note of blood oranges. The sugar, acid and fruit flavors are perfectly balanced-- and the end result is gorgeous.

Unlike a traditional margarita, this blood orange margarita recipe uses a tiny splash of simple syrup to bring out the fruit flavors and soften the edges. It helps build a juicy, brilliantly hued drink.

Best of all, these blood orange margaritas are so easy to toss together. Squeeze some juice, shake it up with the tequila, lime juice, simple syrup and orange liqueur and pour it into a salt rimmed glass. Viola. So if you happen to see blood oranges at your local store, don’t walk past them! Grab a few and mix up some of these margaritas for your friends. They won’t be forgotten!

what is in a blood orange margarita?

• blood orange juice
• blanco tequila
• Cointreau (or your favorite orange liqueur)
• lime juice
• simple syrup

how to make a blood orange margarita:

1. Rim a margarita glass with coarse salt.
2. Squeeze fresh blood orange juice.
3. Combine juice with tequila, Cointreau, lime juice and simple syrup.
4. Shake with ice until cold.
5. Strain into prepared glass and enjoy!

how are blood oranges different?

To start with, blood oranges are a stunning color. Their flesh is packed with anthocyanins, which gives the fruit its characteristic deep red hue.

Aside from their striking looks, blood oranges have a distinct flavor that is best described as a mix of floral and tart red fruit (like raspberry). In general, I find them to be a touch less acidic than your average orange-- but that varies on variety and ripeness.

tips for this the blood orange margarita recipe:

The real challenge here is reproducibility, and that is true for all fruit-based cocktails. The blood orange we used won’t be the same as the blood orange you have. Fruit cocktail recipes require a little more give and take-- you need to taste and adjust the drink to your own ingredients.

Inevitably, there are natural variations in ripeness, fruit variety, and growing conditions that will influence the amount of sugar, acid, and flavor in the orange. All it takes is a slightly underripe blood orange to really throw off the balance of the drink. 

So depending on the ripeness of your blood oranges, it may be necessary to go up with the simple syrup or down with the lime juice. Mix, taste, tweak and enjoy!

more tequila cocktails and margarita recipes to try!

hibiscus margarita

pineapple margarita

mango margarita

cucumber margarita

spicy cilantro jalapeño margarita

spiced tamarind margarita

strawberry margarita

cantarito

mexican mule (tequila ginger beer cocktail)

mezcal sour with strawberries and ginger

tequila sour

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