Sparkling Apple Cider Margarita

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Put a festive fall touch to everyone’s favorite classic cocktail with this sparkling apple cider margarita! You'll love the way the warm apple cider spice pairs with the citrusy notes and rich, complex tequila to make one delicious fall cocktail. This margarita uses only fresh ingredients, comes together in just minutes and can be prepared as a single drink or in a pitcher to serve a crowd.

A sparkling apple cider margarita with cinnamon sticks and an apple to the side.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
Recipe FAQs
Expert Tips
Perfect Pairing
Looking for More Apple Cocktails?
📖 Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Full of fall flavor. Admit it. When the temperatures start to drop, you're ready for all things apple and pumpkin. With every sip, you get a bouquet of warm spice that will give you that cozy, comfy feeling we all love about fall.
Quick and easy to whip up. Not an advanced mixologist? No worries! This apple cider margarita does not require any expert bartending skills, and with its quick prep time, entertaining doesn't get any easier.
That bubbly finish! Unlike most apple cider margarita recipes, we finish this cocktail with a splash of ginger beer or ale for an extra spice kick and an effervescent, fancy touch.
Makes for the perfect holiday signature cocktail. Whether you're hosting a Halloween party, Thanksgiving dinner or random fall gathering, put this apple cider cocktail on the menu. Those festive flavors are just begging to take center stage, and nothing adds a fun spin to the evening like a margarita.

Bonus: Looking for another fall apple cocktail? Add my Poisoned Orchard Cocktail to the list! This Halloween cocktail is loaded with apple flavor, and I'm sure you'll love it as well.

Ingredients

Now for a few quick notes about our sparkling apple cider margarita ingredients.

Apple cider is obviously the ingredient that sets apart this margarita. Store-bought apple cider works great, and there's certainly no need to feel like you need to make your own cider. But if you're up for it, you can use my homemade apple cider in this recipe.

For our tequila, I highly recommend reposado tequila over blanco tequila. Reposado tequila ages in oak barrels anywhere from two months to up to a year while blanco tequila doesn't age at all. The time in the barrels gives reposado tequila a smoother finish more complex flavor profile with vanilla and caramel notes that pair beautifully with our apple cider.

Admittedly, I recommend reposado tequila for just about all margaritas because I prefer the richer taste and silky finish. But I think it especially works well here with the apple spice.

And then there's our orange liqueur. Triple sec is your typical house orange liqueur, but to make this a top-shelf apple cider margarita, I suggest reaching for the Grand Marnier or Cointreau. While both premium brands are delicious, Grand Marnier is my top choice here, thanks to its brandy base, which nicely complements the apple cider.

You may have also noticed I specify ginger beer or ale. Both give us fun bubbles, but ginger beer adds a stronger, spicier flavor while ginger ale brings a sweeter finish. This comes down to personal preference.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Let's show you how truly simple it is to prepare these sparkling apple cider margaritas.

Step 1: For a beautiful cinnamon-sugar rim, we spread some cinnamon and brown sugar on a small plate, run a lime slice along the edge of our serving glass and swirl the glass in the cinnamon-sugar mixture like so (photo 1).

Swirling the glass in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.

Step 2: We grab our cocktail shaker and add the apple cider, tequila, orange liqueur and freshly squeezed lime juice (photo 2).

Pouring in the apple cider into a cocktail shaker.

Step 3: Now we add a handful of ice to the cocktail shaker (photo 3), put on the top and shake vigorously.

Adding ice to the cocktail shaker before mixing.

Step 4: With our glass garnished, we add some ice and strain the margarita into the glass (photo 4) and then gently stir in our ginger beer or ale (photo 5).

A collage showing straining of the margarita and topping with ginger beer.

And those are all the simple steps! If you'd like to be extra fancy, drop an apple slice into the glass and place a decorative cinnamon stick on top. Sip and enjoy the perfect fall margarita.

A sparkling apple cider margarita with fall flowers behind it.

Recipe FAQs

Can you make a pitcher of apple cider margaritas?

Absolutely! Simply stir together the apple cider, tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice in a pitcher. Store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours and stir in the ginger ale or ginger beer right before serving. The fresh lime juice will start to lose its brightness after a day, which is why I recommend that time frame. You can find proportions for a pitcher serving in the notes section of the recipe card.

Do you have to use freshly squeezed lime juice in margaritas?

For the best flavor, you absolutely want to use freshly squeezed lime juice. It makes a world of difference. Bottled lime juice is not nearly as bright or fresh tasting. I can always tell when I get a margarita from a bar that does not use fresh lime juice -- it's key to a making a high-quality margarita.

Can I substitute apple juice?

I do not recommend substituting apple juice for apple cider. They are very different products. Apple cider is made from a mash of fresh apples and comes with a spicier finish while apple juice is filtered, pasteurized and much lighter tasting.

Expert Tips

Make sure you don't use sparkling apple cider, which is more like apple juice, or hard cider, which is alcoholic. We just want traditional, uncarbonated apple cider, which you can find in the produce section of your grocery store.
Apple cider varies in sweetness by brand. The apple cider I use is sweet enough that I don’t need additional sugar. That said, if you need more sweetener, you could use basic simple syrup or maple syrup, or one of my fancy spiced syrups like this brown sugar-chai syrup or gingerbread syrup. I’d start with ½ ounce and then add more if necessary.
Pick limes that have some give when you press into them to ensure they’re still juicy.
Don't want a fizzy drink? No problem. Simply leave out the ginger beer or ginger ale. This fall margarita is absolutely delicious whether you use the bubbly ginger topping or not.

Perfect Pairing

This autumn margarita obviously calls for fall comfort food, and I have several perfect options. To complement those warm spices, try my apple cider pot roast or apple cider short ribs. You'll also love my apple-stuffed chicken with this margarita.

Have a sweet tooth? You'll also love this apple margarita with my apple cinnamon rolls, apple shortcakes or apple spice cupcakes.

When you need the perfect fall cocktail, I hope you try this apple cider margarita. You'll adore every festive sip.

Cheers!

An aerial view of the apple cider cocktail on burlap with cinnamon sticks.

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