Cocktail Hour / Sugared Cranberry Margarita

Happy Friday, friends! This week has been so full of holiday parties and gift wrapping and I am loving every minute! Yesterday I was over on Mark and Graham's blog sharing my signature Christmas cocktail that I made for our team holiday party on Monday night. I may not have been able to sample this one, but from the reviews it was a hit! I also love how festive and wintery it looks in these mint julep glasses. Keep reading for the recipe!

Recipe

(Makes 2 Cocktails)

2 limes + 1 for rim
1 C. fresh orange juice
1 C. fresh cranberries + more for garnish
1 C. sugar
1 C. water
2 ounces or ¼ C. Tequila
2 ice spheres (molds available here)
½ C. kosher salt

In a small saucepan, bring sugar, water, and cranberries to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes until the cranberries are breaking open and the liquid is a dark red. Drain the cranberries from the saucepan and pour the remaining simple syrup into a glass container to cool. This step can be done well in advance as the syrup will keep for at least a week in the refrigerator.

Cut one lime into quarters and use one quarter around the rim of each glass to get it sticky for the salt. Sprinkle the salt on a flat surface and salt the rim of each glass.

Combine the fresh juice of two limes, orange juice, cranberry simple syrup, and tequila in cocktail shaker and shake.

Place one ice sphere in each salted glass, along with 8-10 fresh cranberries. Add liquid from cocktail shaker and enjoy!