These Champagne Margaritas are in honor of two special events coming up. The first one is pretty obvious and that’s New Year’s Eve. You can’t countdown to the new year with your family and friends without having a specialty cocktail up your sleeve for the festivities. The second special event is that this just so happens to be the last post of 2018! We’ve gone through an entire year with so many recipes that you’ve all (hopefully) loved and I hope to continue this little blog and bring you even better content in the new year. Whatever your New Year’s resolutions might be, I truly hope that they bring you happiness, and that you make the most of this upcoming year. This is your time to shine and do what you love. This is your year to make a difference and stand up for what you believe in, and above all, this is your time to have the most fun in the kitchen yet. Let’s raise our glasses to 2019 and may it be everything we want it to be and may it bring us everything we wish that it does.
Homemade margaritas are actually quite simple, and I think that sometimes we (myself included) forget about that. We think it’s so much easier to pick up a bottle of the pre-made mixer, but making a really good margarita at home isn’t at all complicated. The first thing we need to do is salt rim the glasses. Run a lime wedge around the rim of short glasses and then dip in coarse salt.
**Tip: If you want to spice up the margaritas you can mix a bit of cayenne and/or lime zest into the salt for a chili lime salt rim that would go so well with the margaritas.**
Let’s now make the mixer for the drink. Add the fresh lime juice to a pitcher. It’s very important for the taste of your cocktails to absolutely use fresh lime juice that you’ve squeezed yourself. I can’t stress enough just how much better it tastes to use fresh juice as opposed to the stuff you can buy at the store.
Next, you’ll add the simple syrup. The amount that you add is somewhat up to you. I’ve suggested an amount below in the recipe, but if you like sweeter margaritas, then you can definitely add more to your tastes.
**Note: Homemade simple syrup is just equal parts water and granulated sugar. You combine both in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Continue to cook until the sugar has dissolved. Transfer to a heat-proof measuring cup and let cool completely. The simple syrup can be made in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use, up to 4 days.**
You’ll then add the orange liqueur, which happens to be an essential ingredient in a classic margarita. The orange goes so well with the lime juice.
Give the mixture a stir to evenly combine and then divide among the salted glasses from earlier, that have been filled with ice. The mixture should provide you with enough for four cocktails.
Then comes the festive part. Because this is New Year’s Eve after all, instead of tequila, we’re going to top off each glass with a bit of chilled champagne.
Give them a gently stir with a straw or a long cocktail stirrer, and garnish with a fresh lime wedge right before serving.
If you want to prep this cocktail ahead of time and want to make a large batch, I recommend combining everything in the pitcher as mentioned (minus the champagne) and covering with plastic wrap and keeping in the fridge until ready to serve. It can be made early in the day and kept in the fridge until the evening. Just add the champagne to the glasses right before serving to prevent the champagne from loosing it’s bubbles.
The great thing about this cocktail is that it can be easily doubled or tripled to serve a large crowd or party, making it the perfect drink to make this New Year’s Eve! Whatever you serve that night, I hope you all stay safe and most of all, have a blast! Happy New Year my friends!
- 1 lime quartered
- ⅓ cup coarse salt
- ice
- 8 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice
- 4 ounces homemade simple syrup* (or store-bought agave syrup)
- 3 ounces orange liqueur
- 1 (750 ml) bottle Champagne, chilled
- Rub a lime wedge over the edge of four glasses and then dip each in salt to evenly coat the rim. Fill the glasses with ice and set aside.
- In a pitcher, combine the lime juice, simple syrup, and orange liqueur and mix until well-incorporated. Divide among the prepared glasses and top off each with champagne. Serve with lime wedges as garnish. Enjoy!
- *To make simple syrup, combine ½ cup water with ½ cup granulated sugar in a small saucepan and set over moderate heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Transfer to a heat-proof measuring cup and allow to cool completely.
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