Cranberry Margaritas with Kumquat

A classic cocktail made with some less than common ingredients makes for an instant crowd pleaser!

When I was in the store a couple of weeks ago, I spotted both cranberries and kumquats on sale. Never one to pass up a good deal, I swiped them both up with no clue on what I wanted to do with them. I had some ideas, but nothing set in stone. Since I had two bags of cranberries, I decided to make a simple syrup with one of the bags since I needed to use them up and it turned out so good. The tartness really shone through, and when I mixed it up with some muddled kumquats and a little tequila, I knew it was a hit.

This is a great recipe to make in a big pitcher for a crowd; just muddle a bunch of kumquats in the bottom of a pitcher and fill with the simple syrup, tequila, and some triple sec. Top that off with ice and you’ve got a party-pleaser for sure.

See Also

Cranberry Honey Cake with Lavender Frosting

If anything, you should definitely make this cranberry simple syrup to have on hand – I’m sure there’s a stray bag of cranberries in your fridge just begging to be made into this simple syrup. I threw some zest of kumquats and a few whole ones in there to bring out that citrus flavor, but if you have oranges and/or kumquats aren’t on sale where you are, add those instead.

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• Author: Taylor McBride
• Yield: 1 drink 1x

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Ingredients

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For the cranberry simple syrup

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups cranberries
• 2–3 kumquats (optional)

For the drink

• About 7–8 kumquats (sliced and seeds removed, plus more slices for garnish)
• 1 1/2 oz tequila
• 1 1/2 oz triple sec
• 1/2 oz cranberry simple syrup

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Instructions

Cranberry simple syrup:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and cranberries.
2. Heat until it comes to a boil, stirring occasionally, then simmer for 5-10 minutes. During the last minute or two of cooking, I add the zest of a few kumquats (it’s hard to get all of the zest off, obviously, so just a few swipes to release the essential oils) and then throw them in whole – they’ll permeate the syrup while cooling.
3. Remove from heat and let cool.
4. Strain into a glass jar and discard the cranberries/kumquats.

Drinks:

1. Add the sliced kumquats into a cocktail shaker.
2. Muddle them to break them up and release their flavors.
3. Add the tequila, triple sec, and cranberry simple syrup and a little ice and shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass with ice.
4. Garnish with extra kumquat slices (I also added the ones from the shaker in for extra flavor); you can also salt the rim of the glasses if desired.

• Category: Cocktail