Pumpkin Spice Margarita

I made pumpkin spice syrup to put in my coffee and then heard that Pumpkin Spice Margaritas are a thing, so I made one. And it was actually really good! None of this is my recipe (I got the syrup recipe from America’s Test Kitchen) but if you want to make a Pumpkin Spice Margarita too (or just the pumpkin spice syrup), here you go. The syrup is also great in coffee and should keep about a week in the fridge. Straining it took awhile and I’m not sure if it’s really necessary to strain it. Or you could just buy some pumpkin spice syrup and skip straight to making a margarita. 

First, mix up the pumpkin spice:

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground allspice

Next, make the syrup:

1 ½ cups water
1 ½ cups sugar
4 tsp pumpkin spice

¼ cup pumpkin purée 
¼ tsp vanilla extract

Bring water and sugar to boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in pumpkin spice and purée, reduce heat to low, and gently simmer for 20 minutes until flavors meld and syrup thickens slightly.

Using fine-mesh strainer with cheesecloth, strain mixture into medium bowl, squeezing cheesecloth to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids and stir in vanilla extract. (Pumpkin spice syrup can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.)

Then, make the margarita: 

2 oz tequila reposado (I use Hornitos)

1 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz Cointreau 

1 oz pumpkin spice syrup

garnish: 1 cinnamon stick

If desired, make a spiced salt rim for the glass first. Mix some coarse kosher salt with a little bit of the pumpkin spices (at least cinnamon and/or nutmeg). Wet the edge of a 10 oz cocktail glass with lime juice, then dip the edge of the glass in the spiced salt. Add some ice to the glass. 

Add the margarita ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled then strain into the cocktail glass. Garnish with a cinnamon stick. 

Frozen Midori Sour Margarita

Here’s another margarita mashup, a cross between a margarita and a Midori sour. It’s one of my favorites and it’s not too sweet or too sour. It’ll taste better with Cointreau, and it’ll be a light lime green color, but if you want it to be greener you can use blue curaçao (or you could add 1/2 oz blue curaçao in addition to the Cointreau).

2 oz tequila

1 1/2 oz Midori

3/4 oz lime juice

3/4 oz lemon juice

1/2 oz Cointreau or blue curaçao 

1 oz simple syrup

about a cup or so of ice

Blend it all up in a blender and serve in a large margarita glass (the glass probably needs to hold at least 14 ounces). Garnish with a lime wedge, or a lemon wedge, or a piece of green melon.