Winter Wonderland Margarita

When Old Man Winter strikes, nothing gets you through the cold night like a seasonal cocktail by the fire. Made with sweet and savory rosemary simple syrup and bright white coconut milk, this Winter Wonderland Margarita is your perfect sipper for the occasion. Serve with a candied rosemary sprig for a sparkly, wintry touch.

Coconut is getting a makeover for this winter cocktail, and I have no doubt you’ll love the new vibes. Usually, I reserve coconut for my summer cocktails, like this tropical coconut-watermelon mojito, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Coconut cocktails were made for sandy beaches and turquoise water.

But why stop there? That pretty white coconut milk is also the perfect nod to snowy winters. Let's expand coconut's horizons, shall we?

Along with our snow-white look, I wanted this margarita to show off a wintry flavor. Enter our homemade rosemary simple syrup, which gives this margarita a savory, complex touch for a delicious yet unexpected twist that's sure to impress.

And this seasonal margarita will impress. Trust me. I made just one Winter Wonderland Margarita for my father-in-law on Christmas Eve, and after his rave review, I went into busy bartender mode, mixing up this cocktail left and right for the rest of the family.

Honestly, my only regret was not making this margarita pitcher style for easier entertaining, but at least I know better for next year. Live and learn, right?

Ingredients

Let’s chat ingredients. Here’s everything we need to make this winter margarita.

• Coconut milk
• Fresh lime juice
• Rosemary simple syrup
• Tequila
• Orange liqueur
• Sea salt for glass rimming
• Candied rosemary sprigs for garnish (optional but oh-so pretty)

For the coconut milk, make sure you get the unsweetened canned variety. This gives us pure, unadulterated coconut goodness as opposed to the kind in a carton. Coconut milk in a carton works great in smoothies, but canned coconut milk gives us a much richer flavor for our cocktail.

As I’ve discussed in my other margarita recipes, reposado tequila is my favorite type for margaritas. Reposado spends time aging in oak barrels for a more complex taste. To me, reposado tequila makes for a tastier drink.

That said, if you prefer blanco tequila, feel free to use that. We all have our different preferences.

And then there’s the orange liqueur. I usually reach for Grand Marnier or Cointreau, but your basic triple sec also works.

Step-by-Step Instructions

The rosemary simple syrup gives this margarita a savory quality to counter the sweetness. While the rosemary flavor is subtle, it makes all the difference and adds the perfect complex touch, so please don't skip this step. Otherwise, you'll just have a coconut margarita, which is still delicious but not quite what we're going for with this winter cocktail recipe.

To make the rosemary simple syrup, we cook water, sugar and fresh rosemary sprigs in a small saucepan until the mixture comes to a low boil. Give it a stir to help dissolve the sugar, turn off the heat and allow the mixture to steep.

As a bonus, you don't have to just use this rosemary simple syrup in this margarita recipe. If you're looking for more ways to use this rosemary simple syrup, give my blood orange-rosemary gin and tonic a try, which is perfect with blood oranges now in season.

With our rosemary simple syrup prepared, we’re ready to start mixing. We grab a cocktail shaker and add our simple syrup, fresh lime juice, tequila, orange liqueur, coconut milk and ice.

Before adding the coconut milk, give the can a good shake. The coconut milk can partially solidify as it sits in the can, but a good shake is just what it needs.

Now we pop on the top and give it a good shake again. Who knew your arm would get such a workout just from making one margarita?

For an extra pretty serving touch, I love to rim the glasses with coarse sea salt and garnish with a candied rosemary sprig.

And just like that, our Winter Wonderland Margarita is now ready for serving and sipping!

Perfect Pairing

This winter margarita is perfect with dessert. To keep the wintry vibes going, I recommend pairing this margarita with a delicate angel food cake topped with sweet cranberry sauce.

You can make your own angel food cake or pick one up from the bakery and then use my spiced-brandied cranberry sauce for the topping. The coconut and savory rosemary work beautifully with the fresh orange zest and spices from the cranberry sauce. And they’ll look so festive together, which is just plain fun.

If you need an escape from these chilly months, I hope you try this Winter Wonderland Margarita. With that pretty white shade and glistening candied rosemary sprigs, this festive margarita is just what you need to get through the winter until spring arrives. And, hey, even if you serve this margarita in the middle of July, it's still tasty, and I certainly wouldn't judge.

Please let me know how you enjoyed this winter coconut margarita recipe in the comment section and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter. You can also catch me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.

Cheers!

Need More Winter Cocktails?

• Cranberry-spice Christmas mimosa
• Sugar Plum Fairy Martini
• Rosemary-grapefruit spritzer
• Blood orange margarita
• Chai-cranberry bourbon smash
• Cranberry-apple cider holiday sangria

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