This delicious Thanksgiving Margarita recipe is my family’s favourite craft cocktail to prepare during the popular Fall holiday.
Our quick & easy Fall Margarita recipe features premium tequila, apple cider, Calvados, ginger syrup, lime juice, cinnamon spice and an apple slice garnish.
We love serving Thanksgiving Margaritas as a pre-dinner cocktail at our cottage in Muskoka. It’s a refreshing sip to enjoy after going on a hike to take in the Fall colours at Dorset Lookout Tower.
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What Is A Thanksgiving Margarita Cocktail?
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada. It began as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year.
Thanksgiving takes place during the harvest season in the Fall. Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October while America celebrates the holiday in November.
For many North American families, the dishes prepared at Thanksgiving are the reason the holiday is so beloved. Popular dishes you’ll likely find at a Thanksgiving dinner include roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, roasted squash, broccoli and cauliflower casserole, steamed green beans, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.
A Thanksgiving Margarita is the perfect craft cocktail to serve at this cherished Autumn holiday.
A traditional margarita is a Mexican cocktail consisting of tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice often served with salt on the rim of the glass.
Our festive Fall Margarita offers a play on the classic drink by incorporating Autumn flavours like apple cider, Calvados, ginger syrup and cinnamon spice.
Travel To Mexico to Taste The Best Tequila
There’s no better way to familiarize yourself with the best Thanksgiving Margarita cocktail recipe then by planning a vacation to visit the world’s best tequila distilleries.
As cocktail enthusiasts we’ve traveled the world to visit the best tequila, gin, whiskey and rum distilleries.
We love traveling to Mexico. We’ve sipped tequila muddled cocktails in Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Mexico City, Merida, Chichen Itza and Playa del Carmen.
The bar at Four Seasons Mexico City is ranked as one of the best cocktail bars in the country. The creative mixologists behind the Four Seasons bar make classic cocktails, eye-popping modern marvels and refreshing drinks like a seasonal Fall Margarita.
If you want to learn first hand how tequila is made we suggest planning a trip to Jalisco. All tequila is produced in this state, while other agave-based distilled spirits made outside the region are called mezcal.
On a tequila distillery tour you’ll enjoy a walk through an agave farm, explore the production facility, learn about the distillation process and finish with a tutored tequila tasting. Many distillery tours in Jalisco also feature bars so you can sip a margarita at the end of your visit.
Best Tequila For Craft Cocktails
We recommend sipping a variety of tequila brands in order to find your favourite. Each tequila brand has a unique method for harvesting agave, distilling and aging & barreling the final product.
Here are the world’s top selling tequila brands worthy of being muddled into a Thanksgiving Margarita:
Thanksgiving Margarita Recipe Ingredients
Our homemade Fall Margarita cocktail is made with fresh and premium ingredients:
- Tequila: we suggest using Cazadores, Cenote or Maestro Dobel Tequila.
- Calvados: is a French brandy prepared by distilling fermented apple.
- Apple Cider: use your favourite freshly pressed apple juice.
- Ginger Syrup: sweeten the margarita with ginger syrup by The Ginger People.
- Lime Juice: we always suggest juicing fresh limes as you’ll taste the difference. Do not use store bought lime juice!
- Cinnamon Sugar: we suggest decorating the rim of your cocktail glass with cinnamon sugar.
- Garnish: adorn the glass with a cinnamon stick and slice of crunchy apple.
Fall Margarita Cocktail Tips
This fabulous Fall cocktail recipe is easy to make at home, ready to serve in under 5 minutes.
We love mixing this Thanksgiving Margarita recipe in October (Canada) and November (America). The refreshing Autumn tequila cocktail is a crowd pleaser at Thanksgiving dinners. We suggest serving it as a pre-dinner cocktail with festive snacks like Nuts & Bolts.
We prefer to use freshly pressed apple cider in this recipe but you can substitute for apple juice if you prefer.
If the drink is too strong and boozy for some of your family members feel free to top the cocktail with a splash of soda water.
Our easy Thanksgiving Margarita recipe serves one person. If you’re hosting a large gathering feel free to multiply the ingredients by the number of guests and muddle the drink in a punch bowl or jug rather than a cocktail shaker.
We like to garnish the glass with a sliced apple, preferably a red colored variety like Gala or Red Delicious.
We’ve made this drink with a cinnamon sugar rim but you can skip this step if you prefer.
Best Bartender Tools & Cocktail Equipment
Before hosting a swanky Thanksgiving Margarita party you’ll need to ensure you have the best bartender tools and cocktail equipment.
- Cocktail Kit: cocktail kits are the perfect gift for newbie mixology fans as they include basic bartender tools like a jigger, shaker and spoon.
- Cocktail Shaker: a bartender’s best friend. Purchase a premium cocktail shaker to muddle or shake up your favourite pink gin cocktails.
- Cocktail Glassware: make sure your bar is stocked with a selection of unique glassware to show off your favourite cocktail creations.
- Hawthorne Strainer: this unique strainer features tightly wound coils and perforated holes. It keeps ice and other large ingredients like lime wedges in your cocktail shaker rather than in the glass.
- Bar Spoons: slender and long bar spoons are a must-have when stirring drinks.
- Bottle Opener: easily open bottles of beer or cider with the flick of your wrist or purchase a corkscrew for fine wine.
- Pouring Spout: once you’ve opened a new bottle of gin insert these affordable pourers to make cocktail assembly a breeze.
- Cutting Board: purchase a petite cutting board for your bar to slice garnishes or citrus wedges like lime, orange, lemon or grapefruit.
- Ice Bucket: chill bottles of gin quickly in an ice bucket or keep by the bar when muddling gin mixers into cool creations.
- Ice Crusher: fans of the Mint Julep love an ice crusher.
- Ice Cube Kit: we suggest purchasing a selection of ice cube trays. Silicone styles are our favourite as they’re easy to clean and are available in various shapes and sizes.
- Jigger: use a jigger to accurately measure spirits, juices, syrups and shrubs.
- Juicer: invest in an electronic juicer or buy an affordable hand-held to easily juice fresh citrus like lemons and limes.
- Muddler: fans of the Mojito love a sturdy muddler to mix mint and lime. Muddler’s are handy for any cocktail featuring ingredients that need a pounding like fresh herbs or citrus wedges.
- Citrus Peeler & Zester: adorn your craft cocktails with a thick citrus peel or finer ribbons of lime or lemon zest.
- Rimmer: Bloody Mary and Caesar lovers should outfit their bar with a handy rimmer for salting and sugaring glassware.
You May Also Enjoy These Tequila Cocktail Recipes…
- Frozen Mezcal Paloma Slushie Cocktail
- Perfect Patron Margarita Cocktail
- Tommy’s Margarita Cocktail
- Mexican Mule Tequila Cocktail
You May Also Enjoy These Thanksgiving Recipes…
- Thanksgiving Turkey Cranberry Sandwich
- Slow Cooked Red Cabbage with Cranberries
- Nuts and Bolts Holiday Snack Mix
- Crispy Air Fryer Sweet Potato Chunks
- Air Fryer Butternut Squash
- Spiced Vegan Air Fryer Parsnips
- Baked Pork Sausage Stuffed Apples
- Toasted Pecan Parmesan Pear and Rocket Salad
- Oven Baked Halloumi with Roasted Vegetables
How To Make An Easy Fall Thanksgiving Margarita
Fall Thanksgiving Margarita Cocktail
Equipment
- Small Plate
- Cocktail Glass
- Shot Glass
- Cocktail Shaker
Ingredients
- 2 oz Tequila
- 2 oz Apple Cider Juice
- 1 oz Calvados Apple Brandy
- 0.5 oz Ginger Syrup
- 0.5 oz Lime Juice
- Cinnamon Sugar rim
- Cinnamon Stick garnish
- Apple Slice garnish
Instructions
- Pour a layer of cinnamon sugar on a small plate. Run a lime along the rim of your cocktail glass, turn glass upside down and gently press the rim into the sugar.
- Scoop ice into a cocktail glass so that it is 3/4 of the way full and squeeze the rest of your lime wedge over the ice (approximately 0.5 oz).
- Combine liquid ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously for 15 seconds until cold.
- Strain ice and pour the Thanksgiving Margarita into prepared cocktail glass.
- Garnish with a cinnamon stick and apple slice.
Nutrition
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