Black Margarita is the perfect spooky drink for Halloween. It's made with activated charcoal and no artificial coloring! It's fun to make and tastes just like your favorite classic margarita!
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What Makes This Cocktail Special
- It's spooky!! Black margarita is perfect for Halloween. You can make a single serving or a big batch!
- There are no artificial colors. The black color is achieved by adding activated charcoal.
- Activated charcoal is great for preventing hangovers so adding it to your alcoholic drinks may actually help with how you feel the next day!
- It's low in sugar. The recipe calls for just a teaspoon or a tablespoon of maple syrup as a sweetener.
Ingredient Notes
Tequila - I use silver (also called blanco) tequila for this drink. It's milder and lighter than gold tequila would be.
Cointreau - Any orange liqueur will work here.
Lime juice - Use freshly squeezed lime juice whenever possible, it always tastes better.
Orange bitters - This is optional but recommended for an extra layer of flavor!
Activated Charcoal - I use one capsule for the drink itself and one to make the DIY black salt. It makes the drink black without adding any weird aftertaste. Activated charcoal is virtually tasteless.
You can buy it in most health food stores or anywhere they sell supplements. You can also get it online. Make sure there aren't any other ingredients added. Some capsules contain ginger which aids digestion but might change the taste of the drink slightly.
A Non-Alcoholic Version
To make this drink into a virgin black margarita, simply skip the tequila, Cointreau, and orange bitters if they contain alcohol.
- add some orange extract to make up for the cointreau and bitters (¼ teaspoon should be enough for a single serving)
- top the drink up with some sparkling water to make it more fun
Step-by-step Instructions
Making a margarita is really simple and takes only a few minutes.
Always start by getting all your ingredients ready.
Run a lime wedge around the rim of your glass and dip it in your black salt (made by mixing activated charcoal and fine sea salt). Fill it with ice and set it aside.
Into a cocktail shaker or a mason jar, add tequila, Cointreau, orange bitters, lime juice, and activated charcoal (carefully open up a capsule and empty it into the shaker). Add a handful of ice, tightly close, and shake for about 10 seconds until the shaker is very cold to touch.
Pour into the prepared glass over ice and enjoy!
FAQs
It's a regular margarita with activated charcoal to make it black and spooky!
No, not at all! When you're buying activated charcoal capsules, make sure there are no added ingredients that would change the taste like ginger.
Yes, totally! Simply skip all the alcohol, add orange extract, and top with sparkling water.
More Cocktails with Tequila
If you're a big fan of margarita just like me, check out these three variations I've shared
Print📖 Recipe
Black Margarita
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cocktail
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Black Margarita is the perfect spooky Halloween cocktail!
Ingredients
Black salt:
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt
- 1 activated charcoal capsule
- 1 lime wedge (for the glass rim)
Margarita:
- 1 ½ oz blanco Tequila
- ½ oz Cointreau (or other orange liqueur)
- 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 dash orange bitters (optional)
- ½ oz maple syrup (or agave or simple syrup)
- 1 activated charcoal capsule
- Ice cubes
Instructions
Black salt:
- Add the fine sea salt to a small bowl and open up the charcoal capsule. Mix well and transfer to a small shallow plate.
- Run the lime wedge along the rim of your glass and dip it in the black salt. Set aside.
Margarita:
- Add the Tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, orange bitters, and maple syrup to a cocktail shaker. Open up the capsule and add the powder to the shaker. Add a handful of ice and shake for a few seconds.
- Pour into the prepared glass over ice and enjoy.
Notes
- I like to add a splash of orange-flavored sparkling water sometimes to make the drink less strong. You can also serve this in a margarita glass without the ice which is more traditional.
- If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, you can use a mason jar.
Colleen says
What a perfectly spooky drink. This one is on our Halloween menu for sure! Cheers.
Linda says
What a fun-tastic and spooky drink! I'll take a glass, please
Katie Crenshaw says
Thls black margarita is so fun and tasty. I love that it is low sugar and the charcoal helps prevent hangovers.
Shobelyn Dayrit says
I am so intrigue about this Margarita. This will be a hit on the mommas Halloween party. Thank you.
Amy Liu Dong says
First time to hear about black margarita, and I am so excited to try this.
Nice one, my dear!
Nart says
This drink is really perfect for Halloween. I love experimenting with anything with charcoal and this just blew my mind. Such a great recipe!
Heidy says
This Black Margarita was outstanding! So refreshing and our friends loved it! I will be making this again for our Halloween Party! Have a great day and thank you.
LaKita says
I enjoy a good margarita recipe and this one is so fun and festive for the season! Love that it is also made with activated charcoal!
Belinha says
Hello,
I would love to try this drink soon however, is there a special
Kind of charcoal capsules that I should get or are they all the same?
Thanks I’m advance
Veronika Sykorova says
Any capsules work! Just make sure it's capsules you can open and not tablets. Sometimes they also add ginger to the ingredients for digestion so keep your eye on that in case it could change the flavor.
I don't know where you're located but I accidentally bought "homeopatic grade" charcoal capsules in Canada once by Organica and they were white so definitely avoid those.
Chenée says
This drink is so spooky! I love the color and it's awesome that it doesn't require any artificial colors!
Ashe says
There should be a warning on the activated charcoal. It neutralizes any medications and shouldn't be consumed At All if you rely on those medications.
Veronika | thehealthfulideas says
Yes it can, but as webMD.com states, it should be ok if you wait an hour before and after taking charcoal. I'd expect this to happen naturally as I wouldn't expect anyone to take medication at the same time as drinking alcohol. If you're taking lots of medication or for some reason take it while drinking, ask your doctor first.
Vanessa says
Could you give measurements for making a large batch of the mixer for a party. We will add tequila upon serving! Thank you!!!
Veronika | thehealthfulideas says
How many servings are you making? For 10 servings you'll need: 2/3 cup Cointreau, 1 1/4 cup lime juice (approx 10 limes), 2/3 cup maple syrup, and 10 dashes of the orange bitters (approx 1-2 tsp). You don't need to add 10 charcoal capsules, I think 4 should be enough to turn a bigger batch black. For the tequila, you'll need 1 3/4 cups.
Stephanie Griffith says
Will the charcoal turn your teeth and mouth black?
Veronika | thehealthfulideas says
No! It might stain your tongue slightly but it won't stain your teeth. Activated charcoal is actually used in certain kinds of toothpaste to help whiten teeth.
Cynthia says
I don’t have capsules. I have powder. Can you give me a measurement? Thanks
Veronika | thehealthfulideas says
You can use 1/4 tsp of charcoal powder per drink :)
Lene says
Hi there
Does the activated charcoal sink to to bottom?
Veronika Sykorova says
No, as long as you use 100% activated charcoal and shake the cocktail instead of stirring it, it mixes in and dissolves in the drink.