Oh boy, is it nice to be back in the United States. Home of reliable 4G networks! Where chips and salsa flow like water! Queso? Por favor! I may have gone out for a Mexican dinner last night, but my mind is swimming with recipe inspiration from the Middle East. Recipes, coming up!
I came up with these apple margaritas before I left town. Credit goes to Marb, who commented to tell me that she made an apple version of my classic margarita recipe when she was out of orange juice. I owe a big thank you to Marb and everyone else who takes the time to share their adaptations and cooking discoveries with me. I really appreciate you all.
So, instead of silver tequila, Marb used reposado tequila. Reposado, meaning rested, tequila is briefly aged in oak barrels. As a result, it has a light oaky flavor reminiscent of whiskey. The combination reminded me of my cinnamon pear nectar and reposado cocktails, which are among my favorite fall drinks, so I had to try Marb’s margaritas.
I played around with the proportions of reposado tequila, apple juice, honey simple syrup, lime and cinnamon until I got these margaritas just right. I finished mine off with festive, sparkling, spiced sugar and salt rims. These cocktails would be perfect for your holiday fiestas. ¡Salud!
Spiced Apple Margaritas
- Author: Cookie and Kate
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
- Category: Cocktails
- Cuisine: Mexican
Simple apple margaritas with spiced sugar and salt rims! These cocktails would go over great at holiday parties and Mexican-themed dinners.
Ingredients
Spiced apple margarita (per cocktail)
- 2 ounces reposado tequila
- 1 ½ to 2 ounces apple juice or cider, preferably organic
- ¾ ounce fresh lime juice (about 1 medium lime, juiced)
- 1 teaspoon honey simple syrup (recipe below) or ¾ teaspoon agave nectar
- Dash ground cinnamon
Honey simple syrup
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup water
Cinnamon/sugar/salt rim blend and garnish
- 1 teaspoon sugar (I used coconut sugar, but cane sugar or turbinado sugar will also do)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Lime wedges
- Optional garnish: 1 star of anise per drink
Instructions
- First, prepare the honey simple syrup by combining the water and honey in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring frequently, just until the honey is dissolved in the water. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
- On a small plate, use a fork to blend the sugar, salt and cinnamon. Run a wedge of lime around the top of each drinking glass, then turn the glass down at a 45-degree angle and roll the top of the glass through the cinnamon, sugar and salt blend. Fill the glasses with ice and set them aside.
- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Feel free to make 2 to 3 drinks at once. Pour in the tequila, apple juice or cider, lime juice, honey simple syrup and cinnamon. Put on the lid and shake the cocktail for about 20 seconds. Strain the cocktail into the prepared glass(es) and add a star of anise if you’d like. Cheers!
Notes
Recipe inspired by Marb and adapted from my fresh margarita recipe.
Change it up: I’m pretty sure this cocktail would be great with whiskey/bourbon in place of the tequila, in which case I would use lemon juice instead of lime.
Make it vegan: Use agave nectar in place of the honey mixture.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use 100% agave tequila.
Honey simple syrup storage: This simple syrup will keep well in an air-tight container in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
▸ Nutrition Information
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan
I usually want warm drinks this time of year, buuuut I’ll take one of these please and thank you! <3
Graham @ Glazed & Confused
Stop it now. I would get soooo hashtag turnt off of these at Thanksgiving.
jaime
i so appreciate the idea of the spiced apple flavor paired with a booze that isn’t bourbon! super refreshing. thanks for sharing (and yay marb!)
Kate
Thanks, Jaime! I love me some bourbon, but these margaritas are a fun alternative. Yum.
Jennifer @ Show Me the Yummy
What a genius idea!! Margaritas are my go-to drink, so I love this fall twist :)
Sara @ Cake Over Steak
These sound soooo fantastic. I never would have thought of trying an apple margarita, but especially with that reposado tequila it sounds like it would be absolutely wonderful.
Kate
Thanks, Sara! I wouldn’t have thought to make apple margaritas if it hadn’t been for that comment. I think you’d love ’em!
Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life
Marvelous Marb’s Margaritas :)
Thanks Marvelous Kate for creating and sharing this delightful holiday twist with us. I love that I can now have a spiced holiday beverage that is also perfect for our long hot summer Christmas! Time to invite some friends around and lay about in the sun with some cocktails I think :)
Can’t wait to see what you’ve been inspired to create by your holiday!
Carolyn Selheim-Miller
These look awesome! We are huge margarita people but it never feels right to me in winter… Will definitely have to include these at our next enchilada night!
Peter Bergstrom
Pretty dope, I had old cider, still good, and old tequila and nothing else around and thought I can’t make shit and sure enough google brought me here and plus the honey and just lime juice it was good!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
You make the prettiest drinks, these are just gorgeous! (I said “wow!” as I opened your post :)).
Annie
This looks so good but I do not understand the additional step of making a “honey simple syrup” which is basically watered down honey. Why not just use 1/2 teaspoon of honey?
Kate
Hey Annie, good question, and I’m sorry I didn’t address it sooner. Honey doesn’t mix well in cold liquids. It tends to just glob up. Diluting it with some warm water solves the problem.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
Coming back home is the best! I just love the feeling, and can’t wait to get back to Montreal after being away for three months. I love being away too, but there’s something so special about being in your own kitchen with your own tools. Definitely need to try this!
Gaby
I could have one…or more :) of these!!!
thefolia
Way to be resourceful Marb! Salute!
Eileen
Yes, please! *Puts tequila on mental shopping list.* Is it just me, or does it seem like the early wave of pumpkin spice pretty much obliterated September apple season this year? Oh well — I am certainly going to eat (and drink) them now!
Kate
Yep, I think pumpkin beat apple this year. Hope you love the margaritas!
Lisa @ Healthy Nibbles & Bits
This is going to be such a great hit with my friends. Thanks for the recipe! Love that star anise garnish, too!
Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine
Beautiful! And what a fun way to put a fall twist on a summery drink. I have a bottle of tequila and was wondering how to use it for Thanksgiving :)
Robyn @realfoodwholelife
Brilliant! We usually do cranberry margaritas, but I think we’ll switch it up this year with the apple cider version. Thanks for the inspiration.
laurasmess
I’m so glad that you got home safely! I can also empathise re the 4G networks… argh, after going without internet for several weeks I was going a bit mad (as in, how did I exist before internet?! Eeep!). Love this cocktail. Spiced apple drinks always remind me of Christmas and being a cold cocktail, these will be perfect for hot Aussie temperatures! Yay! Thanks so much lovely. Enjoy the festive season xxx
Brittany
Spiced Apple Margs… I’m in! Maybe I’ll make these for our Friendsgiving party this weekend.
Matt @ Plating Pixels
Perfect holiday drink recipe! I’m working on a gluten-free apple cider cheesecake recipe for my blog. This would pair wonderfully with the final dessert.
Kate
Apple cider cheesecake?! I want a slice!
dishing up the dirt
I love using honey instead of sugar for my simple syrups. This margarita sounds fantastic. We have some apples from our neighbors farm that need to get pressed and this cocktail is definitely happening on Thanksgiving! Thanks for the recipe!
Kate
Oh yum, fresh-pressed juice would really send these over the top! Happy holidays, Andrea!
Rebecca
Made these last night for happy hour and they were PHENOMENAL!
Kate
Hooray! Thanks, Rebecca!
Joanne
I sense some sort of Mexican themed holiday party in my future, with this drink featuring front and center!
Susan Watson
This cocktail sounds wonderful, but I have a question: The images show star anise, but none is included in the recipe. What gives?
Kate
Hi Susan, I’m sorry, that was an oversight on my part. I just corrected the recipe. Thank you for pointing it out to me.
Alanna
Oh my, these are too beautiful for words. That first image just slays me, and the flavors sound incredible! Refreshing and cozy at the same time. Mmmm…
Kate
Thank you, Alanna! That means a lot coming from you.
Betty
These look to die for! A Christmas day tipple must!
marla
Awesome holiday cocktail!!
Jennifer
My family has a tradition of making enchiladas every year for our annual holiday gathering. We swapped out tradional margaritas for these and they were a big hit! Still distinctly tasted like margaritas, with an appley hint.
Susan
These margaritas sound great. I’ve been making persimmon margaritas, which use cinnamon simple syrup. I’m thinking that simple syrup would work for these. I’ll have to try these. I love the imagination that is going into making drinks like margaritas.
Susan
I went out this afternoon just to buy limes so I could make these. Really glad I did! I used boiled apple cider diluted in place of regular cider or apple juice. And they came out great. I really like the mix for the rim – I used coconut sugar, which worked really well. I’ve only got enough tequila for one more batch of margaritas, and this recipe will be what I make with it. :-)
Kate
I’m glad the margaritas were worth the effort! Your boiled cider sounds like a stellar option.
Susan
Kate, check the Foodie With Family blog to get the recipe. It’s really simple, and it’s the apple equivalent of pomegranate molasses, in case you’re familiar with that. I’ve been doing approximately 1 part apple molasses to 3 parts water. And heating the mix slightly to get it to dissolve before using it in the drinks.
Susan
And now I’ve made these using the Tungi (prickly pear liqueur) we bought on St. Helena (island in the south Atlantic), because I was craving a margarita and we’re out of tequila. We don’t really like the Tungi, but it becomes very drinkable with this recipe. We are really enjoying it. You never know how your recipes are going to be used, do you? :-)
Kate
Nope, never do! Glad you are enjoying your prickly pear version. I wish prickly pears were easier to come by—that pink color is so pretty!
Susan
Actually, my husband said that the prickly pear version is the best margarita-type drink I’ve made. Quite a compliment from him. We live in the desert (El Paso), so prickly pears are everywhere. Including the tunas (fruits) in the supermarkets. One of the reasons we bought that liqueur was because we loved the idea of bringing back a prickly pear liqueur from the Atlantic to a place where they grow commonly. Unfortunately we didn’t care for the flavor too much, drinking it straight. This recipe and the success with the Tungi has told us that it would also work with the Shochu (sweet potato liqueur, flavor similar to Tungi) that we bought in Japan and had no real use for. So you have manage to rescue us from our not-so-great liquor purchases. Thank you! :-)
Eden Passante
This looks like such a great alternative to the traditional marg! Yum!
Eden Passante
Such a great fall twist on a common margarita! Thanks for sharing!
Ina
I just got back from Austin where I had margaritas every night… but it is a week before thanksgiving, so I was also craving something with “fall flavors”. I searched google and this recipe came up. I made it tonight with Unfiltered Honeycrisp Apple Cider from Trader Joe’s. I left the sugar out of the rim garnish (just salt and cinnamon) and OMG it was sooooooo good! I plan to bring these as my contribution to the family Thanksgiving meal. So yummy!!
Kate
Sounds like a great addition to Thanksgiving dinner. Enjoy! Thank you, Ina for your review.
Joey
A sweet, delicious fall drink! Loved it! Make the spiced rim to go with it. It looks beautiful and tastes great!
Grace
Loved this recipe! I made my simple syrup by using about 100ml each of water and honey. I put 1 tsp each of cinnamon and ginger, 1/2 tsp allspice in a measuring cup, then poured boiling water on top and allowed it to steep a few minutes before adding the honey.
This was the perfect drink for our tacos autumn potluck:)