This Blackberry Margarita is a fun summer twist on the classic cocktail we all know and love. It's made with homemade blackberry syrup which gives the drink its beautiful color! This margarita is the perfect cocktail for any occasion!
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Why You'll Love This Margarita
Beautiful and delicious - The syrup itself is purple-reddish but once you dilute it with the rest of the ingredients, it turns into a more pink/red color and it's so pretty! The syrup itself is delicious too and you can use any leftovers for other cocktails, mocktails, iced teas, or lattes. You can even drizzle it over ice cream or desserts!
The perfect summer drink - Blackberries are my go-to berries in late summer and early fall. They're tart and sweet and so delicious when they're in season. If you're also a big fan of blackberries, you should definitely try this Lavender Blackberry Jam or this Blackberry Baked Oatmeal!
Easy to make - Making your own flavored syrup can sound daunting but I promise you it's so easy! You only need three ingredients to make this one and there is very minimal hands-on work. We all know and love the Classic Margarita but adding flavored syrups keeps it fun! Once you start making your own syrups, you'll never want to go back to store-bought! Check out all my homemade flavored syrup recipes.
Ingredients
- Tequila - Both Blanco and Reposado tequila work in this margarita. I wouldn't recommend Anejo for this drink. It's aged for much longer than the other two and the flavor would overpower the blackberry syrup too much.
- Cointreau - Any orange liqueur you have or prefer works here. Cointreau is my favorite but Triple Sec is another popular one. I find Cointreau has a stronger orange flavor.
- Lime juice - Use freshly squeezed lime juice whenever possible.
- Blackberry simple syrup - All you need to make the syrup are blackberries (fresh or frozen), water, and cane sugar. You can use any sweetener you like (maple syrup is a great option too) but keep in mind the flavor of it might change depending on what you use. Cane sugar is flavorless so it's perfect for making syrups.
Quick No Syrup Version
If you don't have time to make blackberry syrup, you can make this drink with fresh blackberries and simple syrup (or agave or maple syrup) instead.
- Add 2-3 fresh blackberries to your cocktail shaker along with the rest of the ingredients except for ice and muddle them using a cocktail muddler.
- Add ice and shake the cocktail well. Strain into a short glass over ice and garnish with more blackberries and lime.
Mocktail Version
You can either use a tequila-flavored non-alcoholic spirit and a non-alcoholic orange liqueur or you can skip the two completely, add freshly squeezed orange juice instead, and top up the drink with seltzer. I like using flavored sugar-free seltzer. Blackberry flavored one would be perfect for this drink!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Blackberry Simple Syrup
- Add blackberries, cane sugar, and water to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Stir often, in the beginning, to make sure the sugar melts properly.
- Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Take the syrup off the heat, stir in vanilla, and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large measuring cup or a bowl.
- Pour into a glass jar and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Wait until the syrup is completely cool before closing the jar.
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Blackberry Margarita
- Start by prepping your glass. Run a lime wedge around the rim of the glass and dip it in sea salt. Fill the glass with ice and set aside.
I recommend prepping the glass first before you mix the cocktail because if you let the drink sit for too long in the cocktail shaker with ice, it will get watered down too much.
- Into a cocktail shaker add tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, blackberry simple syrup, and a handful of ice.
- Shake the cocktail vigorously for a few seconds until very cool to the touch.
- Strain the drink over ice into your prepared glass and garnish with blackberries and a slice of lime. Enjoy!
Storing Leftover Syrup
You can keep leftover blackberry syrup in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.
You can either make more cocktails with the syrup or use in in mocktails, lemonades, iced teas, lattes, or just add it to sparkling water.
You can even drizzle the syrup over ice cream or desserts!
FAQs
You can use any sugar-free sweetener alternative that can be used in place of regular sugar in a 1:1 ratio. Keep in mind that the syrup will have a different flavor based on what sweetener you use.
Yes, just skip the tequila or add a non-alcoholic spirit and substitute the Cointreau with freshly squeezed orange juice. Top up the drink with seltzer and you're done!
Similar Fruity Margaritas
You can make a margarita with practically any fruit and there are endless combinations you can try. Below are four of my favorites. The first three use homemade berry simple syrups and they're so good! If you like spicy margaritas, I highly recommend the jalapeno one with pineapple juice! To see all the latest cocktails, check out the cocktails category.
📖 Recipe
Blackberry Margarita
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cocktail
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Blackberry Margarita is made with homemade blackberry syrup that gives the margarita a beautiful color! Perfect for any occasion!
Ingredients
Blackberry Simple Syrup
- 2 cups blackberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup cane sugar (or maple syrup)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Blackberry Margarita
- 1 lime wedge
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt
- Ice
- 1 ½ oz tequila (silver or reposado)
- ½ oz Cointreau
- 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 oz blackberry simple syrup
- Garnish: blackberries and lime slices (optional)
Instructions
Blackberry Simple Syrup
- Add blackberries, cane sugar, and water to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Stir often, in the beginning, to make sure the sugar melts properly.
- Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Take the syrup off the heat, stir in vanilla, and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large measuring cup or a bowl.
- Pour into a glass jar and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Wait until the syrup is completely cool before closing the jar.
Blackberry Margarita
- Start by prepping your glass. Run a lime wedge around the rim of the glass and dip it in sea salt. Fill the glass with ice and set aside.
- Into a cocktail shaker add tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, blackberry simple syrup, and a handful of ice.
- Shake the cocktail vigorously for a few seconds until very cool to the touch.
- Strain the drink over ice into your prepared glass and garnish with blackberries and a slice of lime. Enjoy!
Notes
Store syrup in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
You can keep the strained blackberries to use as jam but I usually toss them because the seeds aren’t too pleasant to eat.
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Annie says
I love making homemade syrups for cocktails, it makes a huge difference. This margarita was delicious!