Nov 30, 2020
Everyone has their spirit of choice, especially during the holidays. For our Thanksgiving gatherings, the traditional welcome drink has always been a warm, homemade, spiced apple cider—spiked with a dark, aged rum for the adults. This year, with a smaller group and no children visiting, I decided to make Margaritas!
Tequila has become especially popular with our friends and family. It is the gluten free go-to drink, and the Blanco and Silver varieties don’t contain sugary syrups nor are they aged in wood, so they are unlikely to contain congeners—the chemical impurities that can exacerbate hangovers.
For this Thanksgiving-in-a-glass cocktail, feel free to substitute thawed, frozen cranberries for fresh ones, and remember, cocktails are an intuitive process you should approach like you do cooking—if your cranberries are especially tart, use more simple syrup.
Yield: Makes 2
½ cup water
½ cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
¼ cup fresh cranberries, plus 6 more for garnish
4 ounces Blanco or Silver tequila
2 ounces lime juice, freshly squeezed, reserve wedges
Place ¼ cup sugar and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add 2 sprigs of rosemary. Cover, set aside and allow to cool.
Spill 2 tablespoons sugar onto a small, flat plate. Rub the rims of a chilled rocks glass with reserved lime wedge and press the rims into the sugar to coat the edges. Set the glasses aside.
Add 6 cranberries to the cooled simple syrup to coat, then remove the cranberries and the rosemary sprigs and gently toss them in remaining, plated sugar and set aside.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ¼ cup cranberries and 4 ounces of tequila. Muddle until the tequila turns pink and most of the cranberries are crushed. Add 2 ounces of lime juice and 2 ounces of simple syrup. Fill the shaker with crushed ice, cover and shake until mixed and chilled, about 30 seconds.
Fill prepared glasses with crushed ice, and carefully pour the cocktail mixture over top, garnish each with one sprig of sugar-coated rosemary and 3 sugar-coated cranberries. Serve immediately.
Note: If your cranberries are especially tart, add more simple syrup or cover and refrigerate any left-over thyme-infused simple syrup. It will last for about 1 month.
 | If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram with the #anniefalk so we can all see it! |
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