These Cranberry Pitcher Margaritas with Spiced Salty Sugar Rim are a super festive holiday cocktail to make for a crowd! The margaritas are made with tequila, orange liqueur, fresh lime juice, cranberry juice, a touch of freshly squeezed orange juice, and simple syrup! To make them extra special, the glasses get rimmed in a spiced salty sugar. The best kind of holiday cheer!
Having a good pitcher cocktail for the holidays is always a must for me – because who wants to be shaking cocktails every 5 minutes for your guests?! Not I. I love having a fun signature cocktail when I entertain, because it just makes the evening a little more special. I always have wine and beer, but having an extra fun cocktail as an option is always a HUGE hit. These cranberry margaritas are my #1 choice for this holiday season!
Ever since I shared these pitcher cocktail + mocktail recipes over the summer for my Summer Entertaining Series, you guys have been asking for more! I figured the holidays would be a perfect time to share another, and my drink of choice is always a margarita, so I decided to make this very very vibrant and festive version!
It starts off like all of my margaritas do: with tequila, Grand Marnier, freshly squeezed lime juice (I highly recommend using a juicer like this one
For the festive part of these drinks, I added cranberry juice, freshly squeezed orange juice to balance out all of the tartness, and a spiced salty sugar rim! It sounds fancy, but it’s not! It’s just margarita salt, sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves – and you get a little bit of that holiday spice in every sip, and it’s just delightful.
And to go the extra extra mile of making these even more festive, you can make sugared cranberries to garnish them with! Totally not required, but they’re SO pretty and add such a holiday touch. I’ve included directions on how to make them below!
This makes a pretty decent sized pitcher – it should make enough for 8 or so drinks! You can also make it ahead of time and chill it in the fridge for several hours. I personally don’t like to make these the night before, because sometimes squeezed lime juice can get weird/bitter the longer it sits, so the earliest I’d make these is the morning of!
What you can do ahead of time though, is make your simple syrup, the salty sugar, and the sugared cranberries!
The balance of flavors in these margaritas is perfect and it definitely took some trial and error since lime juice and cranberry juice are both so tart! It might sound like a lot of simple syrup, but these aren’t what I’d consider sweet. All of the lime juice + cranberry really need it! Plus, it makes so many! The freshly squeezed orange juice is really what makes these though. You wouldn’t even necessarily know that it’s in there, but it really adds to the overall flavor profile.
They are SO good and how can you beat that festive holiday color?!
If you need a festive, last-minute Thanksgiving cocktail to make for tomorrow, make these!
And if you need more holiday cocktail inspo, here are a few more of my faves!
Spiced Orange Apple Cider Sangria
Winter Citrus Crush
Pear Ginger Champagne Punch
Spiced Blood Orange Palomas
Apple Pie Bourbon Fizz
Sparkling Blood Orange Sangria
Winter Rosé Sangria
Spiced Cranberry Old Fashioned
Pomegranate Rosemary Clementine Margaritas
and if you ask me…it’s not too early for Christmas Sangria!
Cranberry Pitcher Margaritas with a Spiced Salty Sugar Rim
These Cranberry Pitcher Margaritas with Spiced Salty Sugar Rim are a super festive holiday cocktail to make for a crowd! The margaritas are made with tequila, orange liqueur, fresh lime juice, cranberry juice, a touch of freshly squeezed orange juice, and simple syrup! To make them extra special, the glasses get rimmed in a spiced salty sugar. The best kind of holiday cheer!
Ingredients
For the margaritas
- 1 1/2 cups tequila (I use gold tequila)
- 3/4 cup Grand Marnier*
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice*
- 2 1/2 cups cranberry juice (not cranberry juice cocktail)
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- the simple syrup
- lime slices for garnish
- sugared cranberries for garnish (optional)*
For the simple syrup
- 3/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup sugar
For the spiced salty sugar rim
- 2 tablespoons coarse margarita salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of allspice
- pinch of ground cloves
Instructions
For the margaritas
To a large pitcher, add the tequila, Grand Marnier, lime juice, cranberry juice, orange juice, and simple syrup. Stir to combine. Let chill in the fridge until you're ready to serve. To serve, moisten the edge of your glasses with lime and rim in the spiced salty sugar rim. Fill the glasses with crushed ice and pour in the margaritas! Garnish with lime slices and sugared cranberries.
For the simple syrup
In a medium saucepan, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Once boiling, stir for 30 seconds to ensure sugar is dissolved, then set aside to cool completely.
For the spiced salty sugar
On a small plate, mix together the salt, sugar, and spices until combined.
Recipe Notes
*To make sugared cranberries: Bring 1/2 cup water and ½ cup of sugar to a boil. Once boiling, stir for thirty seconds until dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in 1 bag (12 ounces) fresh cranberries. Stir until completely coated, then transfer to a wire rack to dry for 20 minutes. Add 1 cup sugar to a large bowl and roll the cranberries in the sugar, working in batches. Transfer back to the rack, and let dry for an hour. Store in a cool, dry place.
*If you want to make the margaritas ahead of time, I'd make them and chill the pitcher in the fridge no earlier than the morning of. You can make the simple syrup and the spiced salty sugar several days in advance though!
*I prefer Grand Marnier over other orange liqueurs, but Triple Sec or Cointreau will work here!
*Since you'll be using a lot of limes, I'd highly recommend using a citrus juicer like this one
There may be an affiliate link(s) in this post, which means that if you click on a product link above and complete a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you! As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you SO much for reading!
Served these as our “signature” cocktail on NYE. They were exceptional! Made them a few hours ahead of time (always a plus). The only little bump for us was the crushed ice. I hadn’t thought of using a blender at the time, but perhaps that would have been a good call. After a while we gave up on smashing the ice and served them with good old fashioned cubes. They were delicious! And the sugared cranberries a hit! Many thanks!
I’m so happy to hear you loved them!! Before I had a fridge with a crushed ice maker, I used to crush it in the blender and that worked well! I’m glad the sugared cranberries were a hit too!! Happy New Year!