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This Fresh Blood Orange Margarita has an optional smoky salted rim. The fresh citrus flavors of the blood orange make this a sweet and tart cocktail, and the smoked paprika salted rim gives it a little something extra.
OK, I know that blood orange season is just about over, but I had to squeeze in this cocktail before it completely ends. Did you see what I did there? “Squeeze”? Like how you squeeze an orange…? Alright, sorry I’m so funny. I find blood oranges very alluring because they can be so hard to find. I start looking for them in December, which is of course too early, and then all of a sudden they seem to appear out of nowhere. We have a month or two to enjoy them and then they vanish just as quickly as they appeared. The fact that they are so hard to find is part of what makes them special.
I bought some blood oranges with the intention of making a cocktail out of them – I mean, how could you not? And for some reason I settled on margaritas. It isn’t that there is anything weird about margaritas, it’s just that margaritas aren’t something I usually make at home, or even drink very often when out. Tequila is not my spirit of choice, and although I have a pretty well stocked home bar, I actually had to go out and buy a brand new bottle of tequila in order to make these blood orange margaritas. You will have to forgive me if you are a tequila connoisseur, because I just grabbed the old big name brand off the shelf without really doing my research on which one might be best for my marg. If you love a certain brand of tequila, won’t you let me know in the comments?
The blood orange margarita is sweet and tart and gets a little kick from the smoky paprika salt.
You can customize this drink depending on how sweet you like it. I made some simple syrup by simmering one cup of water with one cup of sugar until the sugar was dissolved. But I ended up liking the drink without any simple syrup. It might depend on how sweet the oranges are, the type of tequila you use and just personal tastes. I would suggest making the drink without the simple syrup and then adding just a little bit (1/4-1/2 ounce) if you feel it needs it.
The smoked paprika salt might be a bit “out there” for some people, and that’s fine. In fact, in the past I didn’t even like salt on my margaritas. As I mentioned on Friday, I have been a little crazy about Spanish smoked paprika lately, so I figured, hey – why not add it to the salted rim of a blood orange margarita? I was afraid it would be too much, but I ended up really liking it. The smoky factor was a little much for Mr. Briar, so it isn’t for everyone. You can still enjoy this margarita without the smoky paprika salt, I won’t be mad.
What is your favorite thing to do with blood oranges?
You also might enjoy these other cocktails….
Blood Orange Margarita with Smoky Salt
Ingredients
For The Blood Orange Margarita:
- 3 ounces fresh blood orange juice
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice
- 2 ounces silver tequila
- 1 ounce Grand Marnier
- *optional 1/2 ounce simple syrup*
For The Smoky Salt Rim:
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon spanish smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 lime wedge
Instructions
- To make salt rim, mix salt, sugar and paprika together and spread on a small plate. Use a lime wedge to moisten the edge of a glass, then dip edge into salt mixture.
- In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add all ingredients for blood orange margarita. Shake until fully mixed, then pour into glass. I prefered to serve mine without ice, but you can serve over ice if you would like,
Notes
Margaritas usually call for triple sec or Cointreau, but I decided to use Grand Marnier because I really like the flavor.
Juice yield will depend on individual oranges, but I found that 5-6 oranges made about half a cup of juice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks gorgeous, so delicious and very creative!
Thank you so much Puja!