Sweet, vibrant blood orange margaritas are a fun twist on the classic cocktail that will make any occasion feel that much more special.
Why you'll love it
Nothing beats relaxing with a blood orange margarita. It is a beautiful cocktail that is as easy to make as it is delicious.
This margarita is a great way to responsibly enjoy yourself at a barbecue, picnic, or get together.
Ingredients
You only need a few easy-to-find ingredients to make this refreshing blood orange cocktail.
- Honey - We use this to coat the rim of the glass. You can also use agave, maple syrup, or even water.
- Simple Syrup - To add a bit of sweetness to the cocktail, we add simple syrup. I add a bit of jalapeno to mine for a little spiciness, but you can omit it. You can also swap it with the honey or swap the honey for the simple syrup!
- Salt/Turbinado - We use this to stick to the rim of the glass. I used a mix of turbinado, with just a few pinches of kosher salt.
- Blood Orange - Known for their gorgeous hue, this adds a fruity, citrus flavor that makes this margarita so much fun.
- Lime - This punches up the volume on the blood orange and adds brightness.
- Tequila - The fun part of the cocktail. What type you decide to use will change up your final flavor profile. I highly recommend using a white tequila.
- Triple Sec - This orangey liqueur bumps up the flavor of the blood orange.
Substitutions and Variations
Blood oranges are seasonal, so it can be difficult to find them once we hit the very warm months. Luckily, we can easily substitute them with some other very fun citrus fruits.
- Oranges - Most oranges beyond blood orange work well with this recipe. I especially love Cara Cara orange, although they are seasonal as well.
- Grapefruit - The bright color and sweet/tart flavor would be amazing if you cannot find any blood oranges.
- Pomelo - These impressive looking fruits are a fun and unique way to substitute blood oranges.
If you want to change up your margarita a little more, you can make small changes to make a tasty impact. Here are some of my favorite variations.
- Add sparkling water or club soda for a bubbly margarita that is even more fun to enjoy!
- Include other fruits for a fun, super fruity drink.
- Substitute the turbinado and salt with Tajin for a truly incredible drink with lots of flavor.
How to make
Making this margarita is so easy to put together. It takes only minutes to put one together. The best part if you can easily multiply the recipe to make several to share.
- Zest and juice your blood oranges.
- Rub the zest of the blood oranges into the sugar.
- Dip the rim of your glass in the honey, then the sugar.
- Mix together the main ingredients for the cocktail together.
- Pour into your ice-filled glass and enjoy!
Tasting Notes
A lot of people who haven't had a lot of blood orange want to know what blood orange margaritas taste like.
- Fruity- but not overly sweet. Blood oranges have a sweet tartness that I find irresistible. Some people compare it to tart raspberries. The margarita also doesn't have a lot of extra added sweetness, only the jalapeno simple syrup if you want yours to have a bit of a kick.
- Floral - Tequilla usually has some lovely floral notes, but the exact type of floral flavor would depend on the exact brand you use. The blood orange also brings in a ton of its own floral notes.
- Herbal - Some tequila varieties also have herbal notes. For me, blood orange also has a light herbal/minty flavor.
- Spicy, maybe - This is totally optional. I love a touch of spice to my blood orange margaritas every now and then. The fresh jalapeno simple syrup is a great way to introduce some of that heat.
Tools needed
You only need a few tools for this cocktail. Here are some of my recommended items!
- Zester - The best zester I've ever used. It is a workhorse. I thought all zesters were the same until I tried this one.
- Juicer - This is my go-to juicer. It has a measurement on the side so you can see exactly how much you juiced, and how much further you need to go.
- Cocktail shaker - I have a few cocktail shakers. Admittedly, I love this one most because of the design!
Need more cocktail inspiration?
These Passion Fruit Mojitos are always a huge hit, so is this blackberry lime prosecco mojito and strawberry champagne mojito. This white wine sangria is also crazy delicious. If you love margaritas, you have to try this fresh fig margarita, passion fruit margarita, and watermelon margarita.
Recipe Card
Blood Orange Margaritas
Ingredients
For the Margaritas
- honey for rim
- turbinado sugar and/or kosher salt for rim
- blood orange zest for rim
- 4 oz blood orange juice
- 2 oz lime juice
- 3 oz tequila
- 1 oz triple sec
- ½ oz jalapeno simple syrup optional
- dash orange bitters optional
For the Jalapeno Simple Syrup
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ jalapeno sliced and deseeded
Instructions
- Put honey in a shallow dish
- In another shallow dish, add kosher salt, turbinado sugar, and the zest of a blood orange together. Rub between your fingers to release the oils from the zest onto the sugar and salt.
- Dip your glass into the honey, then into the salt/sugar mix.
- Put the blood orange juice, lime juice, tequila, and triple sec in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake for about 20 seconds.
- Pour the drink into a glass filled with ice and top with a dash of orange bitters, if desired. Enjoy immediately.
For the Jalapeno Simple Syrup
- Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan and heat on medium-high.
- Cook until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is a thick consistency.
- Strain out the jalapenos and allow the mixture to cool completely.
- Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container
- To use in the blood orange margarita above, add up to ½ oz of the syrup into the cocktail shaker. (use less if you are more sensitive to spice)
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