Margarita Week Archives - ¡HOLA! JALAPEÑO

Blueberry Rose Margarita

March 28, 2019 by Kate Ramos 6 Comments

It’s easy enough to devour the season’s first blueberries by the handful but one of my favorite ways to indulge in their grassy-sweet flavor is an icy Blueberry Rose Margarita. It’s like you’re raising a glass, literally, to have made it to spring and the warm summer days ahead. Read on for exactly how I make it.

Fresh vs. Frozen Blueberries

There are a 101 ways to enjoy blueberries but a Blueberry Rose Margarita has got to be my favorite. A splash of rose water adds the perfect floral touch. #margarita #blueberrymargarita #blueberries #margaritarecipe #rosewater

The idea here is to use those first, plump, sweet blueberries of the season that you find at the Farmer’s Market but if that’s not a possibility for you, and your supermarket berries leave a lot to be desired, you can absolutely substitute frozen blueberries—in fact, you should.

For this margarita recipe we are making a blueberry syrup so frozen blueberries will work great. You don’t even need to thaw them before combining them with some sugar and water and simmering into a fruity syrup. Plus, the sweetened strained berries can be used to top yogurt or spread onto toast like jam, so you’re really getting two recipes for one!

Use The Best Rose Water

The rose flavor in this drink comes from rose water. Rose water is a flavored water made from steeping rose petals in water until the flavor is infused in the liquid. Some rose waters however, add chemical enhancers which make it taste like you’re drinking perfume.

The best Rose water is Carlo Rose Water made in Glendale, California. It has a fresh rose aroma and a light floral taste. Second to Carlo brand is Cortas, which has a slightly stronger flavor but still delicate and sweet.

There’s lots of other ways to use a bottle of rose water. It’s amazing in desserts. You can add a teaspoon to homemade vanilla ice cream or swirl a few drops into Mexican Wedding Cookie dough before baking. Lots of people add it to thier beauty routine as a toner too, although I’ve never tried that. If you do, let me know how it turns out.

Blueberry Rose Margarita

Yield: 1 drink

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

There are a 101 ways to enjoy blueberries but a Blueberry Rose Margarita has got to be my favorite. A splash of rose water adds the perfect floral touch.

Ingredients

For the Blueberry Syrup

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water

For the Margarita

2 ounces Reposado tequila
1 lime, juiced
1 ounce blueberry syrup ((recipe above))
1 ounce orange juice
splash rose water
salt, ice, orange wedges, and blueberries, (for garnish)

Instructions

For the Blueberry Syrup

Combine blueberries, sugar, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Let cool, strain, and chill.
Save any leftover syrup in a tightly-sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. You can save strained blueberries and eat over yogurt or spread on toast.

For the Margarita

Rub the rim of a cocktail glass with a lime wedge and dip in coarse salt. Fill glass with ice.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add tequila, lime juice, blueberry syrup, orange juice, and rose water.
Shake super hard for longer than you want to and pour into prepared glass. Garnish with a few blueberries and orange slice. ¡Salúd!

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 792Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 601mgCarbohydrates: 166gFiber: 12gSugar: 144gProtein: 3g

One last thing…

What do you think? I want to know! Leave me a comment and snap a photo for Instagram! Tag @holajalapeno so I can see your beautiful creation! Your feedback is super important to me.

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Spicy Raspberry Jalapeño Margarita

April 28, 2018 by Kate Ramos 3 Comments

Congrats on finding yourself here on this most special of days!! Today marks the beginning of MARGARITA WEEK!!!! I’m going to give you a moment to pull yourself together, grab a bottle of tequila, and some limes.

Great, we ready? Cause this is about to get real.

This Spicy Raspberry Jalapeño Margarita made in honor of #MargaritaWeek is a fruity, fiery blend of sweet raspberries, fresh jalapeños, tequila, and lime juice that can easily be made into a boozy, big-batch cocktail for Cinco de Mayo or any celebration. #margarita #spicymargarita #cincodemayo #margaritarecipe

What is Margarita Week?

Margarita Week is always a good time because we take seven whole days to celebrate the world’s most perfect cocktail in all it’s glory, all in the name of Cinco de Mayo. If you are about to click away because you don’t drink or had a bad tequila experience as a teenager well just hold on a minute because Margarita Week isn’t just cocktails.

We have recipes for margarita-inspired desserts, nibbles, and non-alcoholic drinks too! Every year I gather all my foodie friends and bring you so many variations on the theme you will never think of margaritas the same again. This year, as a matter of fact, we have more than 100 recipes thanks to our collaboration with all the creative community of The FeedFeed!! So keep visiting my brand new Margarita Week page for all the newest additions.

This being the third annual Margarita Week, I’ve not only got boat loads of recipes but THREE TIMES the fun going on.

New For Margarita Week This Year:

1. A brand spanking new Spicy Raspberry Jalapeño Margarita recipe (we’ll talk about that more in a minute)

2. An Awesome Giveaway

One luck winner will win everything you need to make the above mentioned Spicy Raspberry Jalapeño Margarita recipe….well almost, minus the raspberries, jalapeños, and tequila, oh and limes. But here’s what you WILL get:

A set of 4 classic Margarita Glasses (pictured)
Cocktail Salts from The Spanish Tin (pictured)
Organic Agave Syrup from Azuñia Tequila
These most adorable cocktail napkins from With Love + Ink (pictured)

The giveaway starts today on Instagram so head to my feed to enter!

3. A party….in REAL LIFE!!!

I’m partnering up with my Friends Who Fete gals, Meg from This Mess Is Ours, and Aida from Salt + Wind to host not one, but two Cinco de Mayo dinner parties + Margarita Tastings in Los Angeles. The dinners will be May 3 and 4. Unfortunately the dinner on May 4 is already sold out but there are still tickets available for the May 3 dinner in Downtown LA and I’m giving my readers 10% off the tickets so grab yours before they are all gone.

Now, about that Spicy Raspberry Jalapeño Margarita

All I can say is, your wish is my command.

I took a very formal survey (ie asked you guys on Instagram), what is everyone’s favorite margarita and I heard loud and clear—Spicy! Spicy! Spicy!!

And this is such a delicious spicy margarita with a fruity raspberry syrup made with the freshest, plump Driscoll raspberries, jalapeño-infused tequila, and lots of fresh-squeezed lime juice for balance. It is super refreshing when it’s terribly hot, can easily be sized up to make a pitcher, and is the prettiest color of pink I ever did see.

And if that’s not spicy enough for you, rim the glass with Tajín for extra kick.

It is the margarita that needs to be made right now—at the height of raspberry season, just in time for Cinco de Mayo!

Enjoy the week friends!!

Spicy Raspberry Jalapeño Margarita

Print Recipe

This Spicy Raspberry Jalapeño Margarita made in honor of #MargaritaWeek is a fruity, fiery blend of sweet raspberries, fresh jalapeños, tequila, and lime juice that can easily be made into a boozy, big-batch cocktail for Cinco de Mayo or any celebration.

Author: Kate
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 20 mins
Yield: 1–6 drinks 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the Jalapeño-Infused Tequila:

1 cup Reposado Tequila
1 jalapeño, sliced

For the Raspberry Syrup:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
2 cups raspberries, preferably fresh but frozen work too

To Make 1 Margarita:

Lime wedges
Tajin seasoning or kosher salt
2 ounces jalapeño-infused tequila
2 ounces lime juice (about 2 limes, squeezed)
2 ounces Raspberry Syrup

Instructions

To Make the Jalapeño-Infused Tequila:

Add sliced jalapeños to the tequila and let infuse at room temperature for at least 3 hours. The longer it sits the spicier it will be.

To Make the Syrup:

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Stir to dissolve. Add raspberries and place over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
Cook until raspberries are falling apart, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Strain and chill completely. You can save leftover raspberry pulp and eat like jam.

To Make the Margarita:

Rim a cocktail glass with lime wedge. Dip in Tajín and fill with ice.
Fill a cocktail shaker with more ice. Add tequila, lime juice, and syrup. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into the prepared glass and serve with another lime wedge if you’d like. ¡Salúd!

Notes

This recipe makes enough syrup for 6-8 drinks. If you’d like to make a pitcher of margaritas instead of just 1, multiply all the ingredients by 8.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

How do you plan on celebrating Cinco de Mayo? What’s your favorite margarita story?

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#MARGARITAWEEK

This week, use the hashtag #MARGARITAWEEK whenever you post an image of a margarita! I’ll share my favorite ones to celebrate!

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Tangerine Thyme Margaritas

February 22, 2018 by Kate Ramos Leave a Comment

Happy National Margarita Day!!! Let’s celebrate with Tangerine Thyme Margaritas!

Who knows why February 22 is the day to celebrate America’s favorite cocktail? Which president declared it to be so? Andrew Johnson? He seems like a real drinker. Calvin Coolidge? No one knows anything about that guy so maybe he was trying to make a lasting mark?

My belief is it falls in the middle of the dreariest part of winter because it is the perfect cocktail to lift your spirits—Tequila! Sour AF! Full of vitamin C! And it hits right at the heart of citrus season when the limes (and in our case) tangerines are plentiful and sweet.

How to Make Tangerine Thyme Margaritas

I think my love for margaritas is well known, and the reason I adore them so (besides the whole tequila thing) is the way you can so easily manipulate the flavors by adding a homemade syrup.

This thyme syrup adds a lovely herbal note to an otherwise sweet and tangy drink. It smooths out the edges and brings a warm winter feel. To make this syrup (and any flavored syrup) is really simple. You combine equal parts sugar and water (in this case, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water) and bring it to a simmer in a saucepan with the flavoring ingredient (in this case, a big handful of fresh thyme sprigs). Let it cook a couple minutes, then cover and let it cool to room temperature, allowing the thyme flavor to steep into the syrup.

The second component is the summery sunshine of tangerine juice. Ideally you can find fresh tangerines and juice them for the drink but if not, a jug of tangerine juice will also work. The difference is in the intensity. Store-bought tangerine juice is thicker and heavier making the thyme syrup have to work really hard to come through. Fresh-squeezed is lighter and brighter with a punch of flavor but one that mellows to allow the other components of the drink some room.

We are going to keep the party going tomorrow too when I take over The Latin Kitchen Instagram Feed! So come check me out on Friday, February 23. I’ll be making this cocktail recipe, talking about how to blend the perfect margarita, and what you should serve with it. See you there!

Tangerine Thyme Margaritas

Print Recipe

My Tangerine Thyme Margarita takes fresh-squeezed tangerine and lime juices and shakes it all around with herbal thyme syrup and tequila. A wintery margarita to celebrate the season’s citrus AND National Margarita Day!

Author: Kate
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 2 mins
Total Time: 17 mins
Yield: 1 drink 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the Thyme Syrup:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
4 ounces (1/2 cup) fresh thyme sprigs

For the Margaritas:

lime wedges, for the rim
kosher salt, for the rim
crushed ice
2 ounces silver tequila
2 ounce tangerine juice (ideally fresh-pressed)
1 ounce thyme syrup
1/2 ounce lime juice
thyme sprigs, for garnish

Instructions

To Make the Syrup:

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk to dissolve the sugar then add thyme. Bring to a simmer and cook, 2 minutes.
Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 1 hour. Strain and chill. Syrup will keep covered in the refrigerator for 1 month.

To Make the Margaritas:

Rub the lime wedge around the rim of a cocktail glass. Dip glass in salt to coat the edges. Fill glass with crushed ice.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add tequila, tangerine juice, syrup, and lime juice and shake vigorously. Strain drink into prepared glass and garnish with a thyme sprig. ¡Salúd!

One More Thing

Did you love this post? I want to know! Leave me a comment and snap a photo for Instagram. Tag @holajalapeno and use the #holajalapeno hashtag so I can see your beautiful creation! Your feedback is super important to me. If you run into trouble shoot me a message on Instagram and I’ll walk you through it.

Also, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!

Pin it!

Pineapple Hibiscus Margarita

May 5, 2017 by Kate Ramos 4 Comments

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

I hope it is warm where you are, you’ve got the hot sun on your face, and an icy margarita in your hand.

I am blown—seriously blown—by the generosity and creative spirits of all my fellow food bloggers who have participated in this year’s Margarita Week. Really my cup, literally and figuratively, runneth over with margaritas and gratitude and inspiration of all the gorgeous, gorgeous work that went into creating this year’s recipes and posts. It is all in good fun—a week dedicated to tequila and margaritas couldn’t be anything but—that being said, I know the time and effort it takes to pull off such jaw-dropping work and for that I want to thank each and every one of you for contributing your talents.

My contribution is a fruity concoction I created with my friends and sponsors of Margarita Week, Azuñia Tequila. Their Organic Blanco Tequila is so smooth and gentle. It is the tequila you want to be drinking if you think you don’t like tequila or have had too many bad experiences with the crap tequila of all of our college days.

Whenever I open the bottle and take in the aroma, pineapple is always the first thing that comes to mind, so it’s a no-brainer that I choose to make a pineapple margarita—I really had no other choice.

Because Azuñia prides itself on being an organic tequila I like to keep my cocktail that way too and use only organic ingredients in the drink. Ripe, buttery organic pineapple, organic limes from my own tree, and even organic granulated sugar in the syrup. It may seem a little nitpicky but I think it makes a difference in the final drink.

The finishing touch is the hibiscus salt on the rim which comes from The Spanish Tin. It has just a hint of smoke from smoked paprika with all the tart tang of ground hibiscus flowers and the perfect amount of flaky sea salt. I highly recommend looking them up, they have a seasoning for just about any occasion.

And because we all need something to snack on while we’re sipping our margaritas in the sun, I’ve got a quick little salsa for you that is one of my favorites from Baja. I don’t think it originated there (I’ve read recipes of peanut salsa hailing from Chiapas to the Yucatán) but the first time I had it was in Valle de Guadalupe so it always makes me think of Baja California.

It’s a spicy, creamy salsa made from arbol chiles and ground peanuts. You can find the full recipe here!

Have a fun and festive Cinco de Mayo my loves! For lots more Margarita inspiration we’ve got everything from cupcakes to cocktails over on the Margarita Week page and follow along on social with the #MargaritaWeek hashtag!

If you’re looking for Azuñia Tequila, check the map to see where you can find a bottle in your area!

Pineapple Hibiscus Margarita

Print Recipe

This Pineapple Hibiscus Margarita is made with fresh pineapple puree, organic blanco tequila, and hibiscus syrup. Perfect to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!

Author: Kate Ramos
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
Yield: 1 drink 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the Hibiscus Syrup:

2 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup dried hibiscus flowers, rinsed

For the Margarita

Hibiscus Salt or kosher salt
2 ounces Organic Blanco Tequila (Azuñia is my favorite)
2 ounces pineapple puree *See Note
2 limes, juiced, plus more for garnish
1/2 ounce pineapple gum syrup
1/2 ounce hibiscus syrup
pineapple wedges, for garnish

Instructions

To Make the Syrup:

Combine water, sugar, and flowers in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk until sugar is dissolved and bring to a boil. Let simmer 15 minutes.
Cover, remove from heat, and let cool. Strain and chill completely.

To Make Margarita:

Rub a lime around the rim of a rocks glass. Dip the outside of the rim in the hibiscus salt to coat. Fill glass with ice.
Combine tequila, pineapple puree, lime juice, and pineapple gum syrup with a scoop of ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously until combined and outside of the shaker is beaded with ice. Strain into the prepared glass. Pour hibiscus syrup over the top, garnish with a lime slice and pineapple wedge, if desired.

Notes

To make the pineapple puree; remove the peel and core from a ripe pineapple and cut into chunks. Add chunks to a blender and blend until smooth. Will make enough for 10-12 drinks. Save any leftover for smoothies.

The hibiscus syrup recipe will make enough for 10-12 drinks.

One More Thing

Did you love this post? I want to know! Leave me a comment and snap a photo for Instagram. Tag @holajalapeno so I can see your beautiful creation! Your feedback is super important to me. If you run into trouble shoot me a message on Instagram and I’ll walk you through it.

Also, don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter, lots of good stuff there too!

This post and Margarita Week was sponsored by Azuñia Tequila, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible.

Fresh vs. Frozen Blueberries

Use The Best Rose Water

Ingredients

For the Blueberry Syrup

For the Margarita

Instructions

For the Blueberry Syrup

For the Margarita

Nutrition Information:

Did you make this recipe?

One last thing…

What is Margarita Week?

New For Margarita Week This Year:

1. A brand spanking new Spicy Raspberry Jalapeño Margarita recipe (we’ll talk about that more in a minute)

2. An Awesome Giveaway

3. A party….in REAL LIFE!!!

Now, about that Spicy Raspberry Jalapeño Margarita

Spicy Raspberry Jalapeño Margarita

Ingredients

For the Jalapeño-Infused Tequila:

For the Raspberry Syrup:

To Make 1 Margarita:

Instructions

To Make the Jalapeño-Infused Tequila:

To Make the Syrup:

To Make the Margarita:

Notes

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

HERE’S HOW TO SUBSCRIBE

#HOLAJALAPENO

#MARGARITAWEEK

PIN IT FOR LATER!

How to Make Tangerine Thyme Margaritas

Tangerine Thyme Margaritas

Ingredients

For the Thyme Syrup:

For the Margaritas:

Instructions

To Make the Syrup:

To Make the Margaritas:

One More Thing

Pin it!

Pineapple Hibiscus Margarita

Ingredients

For the Hibiscus Syrup:

For the Margarita

Instructions

To Make the Syrup:

To Make Margarita:

Notes

One More Thing

PIN IT FOR LATER!

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