Who turns down a refreshing summer cocktail, especially a pretty one? Some folks will turn their nose up at anything but the classic margarita, but I’d suggest a sip of this fresh raspberry margarita might win them over.
I adapted my recipe from one in this month’s Cooking Light for a batch of gooseberry margaritas. I’m not certain I’ve ever seen a gooseberry here in San Diego, but the CL recipe suggested raspberries as a substitute – and those I could find, of course. I cut back on the sugar, increased the Grand Marnier and decided to stick with salt only on the rim – no extra sugar or ground red pepper. I have discovered that you really want a salted rim with a fruity cocktail to balance the sweetness. I should switch out the sugared rims for salted in my recipe for watermelon margaritas…
At the last minute, I dropped the club soda. I wanted the cocktails as undiluted as possible, so I used stemmed glasses, a cocktail shaker and did not serve the drinks over ice. Because our martini glasses are packed away during our house remodel, I found these wine glasses that date back to 1922, when my grandparents married in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I seldom use them, terrified one will be broken, but thought they would be perfect for our raspberry margaritas.
TIP: Chill your glasses in the fridge for several hours before serving the cocktails.
- 2 cups fresh raspberries,
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup Meyer lemon juice
- 1 cup white tequila
- 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
- 3 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 Meyer lemon wedge
- Chill 4 martini glasses - or any stemmed glasses large enough to hold the cocktail.
- Place raspberries in a food processor and purée until smooth.
- Using a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Heat just until sugar has dissolved. Pour into a bowl, add the mashed berries and allow to cool.
- Force the mashed berries through a fine sieve to remove as many seeds as possible.
- Combine the berries, lemon juice, tequila and Grand Marnier in a pitcher. Chill in fridge at least 2 hours.
- Pour sea salt into a small plate.
- Rub the rims of each martini glass with the lemon wedge.
- Dip and twirl the rim of each glass in the sea salt.
- Pour 2 cups of the margaritas into a cocktail shaker filled with ice, reserving the rest of the margaritas for refills. Shake for 30 seconds, strain and pour into prepared glasses.
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What a gorgeous drink, stunning color. Such a fabulous photo! Your Margarita sounds lovely, it’s not a Margarita without a salt rimmed glass to me! Lets hope we can have one together one day!
We will share that margarita together one day, Jayne!
Oh man, I need one of these! And your photo is stunning. The margarita looks like a jewel on a crown. It glows. I love it!!
I remember you are a margarita fan, Susan – these were pretty good, especially with the salted rims.
Lovely Liz. Plan to file this away right next to my friend’s hibiscus margarita. Who says they have to be traditional and I love that you made it less watered down w more grand marnier and also used salt. We had a lemon drop recently with a salted rim and thought they made a mistake but we liked it and now I’m thinking it was intentional!
The lemon drop sounds terrific!
I could sure dive into one of these right now!!! (be careful of chilling your pretty glasses in the freezer…the cold will make them brittle)
I only do it in the fridge – learned that the hard way.
Love your pic Liz! What a gorgeous twist on a classic, pinning for later my friend 🙂
Thanks, Wendy – you, Jayne and I need to share a batch of these!
I would definitely not turn my nose up at this! Looks pretty darn tasty.
Thanks, Brandon – make sure to use the salted rim to cut fruitiness of the cocktail.
I actually do chill my glasses in the freezer. In fact I have about a dozen coups and cocktail stems in there at all times. Nothing beats a well-chilled glass. But I agree with Mare it could be a problem so I only keep durable (less expensive) glasses in the freezer. No problems so far. GREG
Good to know – thanks, Greg.
Liz I’m always so impressed by your cocktails, you inspire me to break out of V&T rut! I have similar glasses to yours, they were also my grandmother’s but I’m not sure when she first bought them. Hers have a platinum rim, I’m guessing they were for fancy “the boss is coming over” dinners. I was going to give them away but you’ve convinced me they need to stay! xoxo
I’m determined to keep using my family “treasures” – hope you will too. I’d love to see them next time I visit you.
Oh yum! I love the traditional margarita, but your raspberry version is making me want to branch out. That stemware is gorgeous, too! Glad to see that the bathroom remodel is complete!
Thanks, Laura – our bathroom is almost ready – should be good to do by end of tomorrow. Today makes 4 weeks…
wow – the color is fantastic. I love the idea of margaritas – but can’t do the tequila. However, these would taste quite good with a vodka substitute. Will make these this weekend, something lovely to sip on while the kids play in the backyard ! When we visited Sweden where my wife is from, there were Gooseberries everywhere ! (and the raspberries are literally weeds there…growing by the sides of the road).
I’m sure these would be just as tasty using tequila.
Beautiful, Liz. And perfect for a day like today. I hope the house remodel is going well. 🙂
Bathroom just about finished except for a few odds and ends – like towel racks!
These sound wonderful, and I love that you are using those vintage family glasses, why not enjoy them, life is too short, to save things!
Agree – and my grandmother would be the first to say the same.