Hibiscus Margarita

The Hibiscus Margarita is delicate pink cocktail with a sweet floral flavor! This unique spin on the classic drink will impress everyone.

Here’s a unique margarita recipe that’s calling your name: the Hibiscus Margarita! This one is delicate pink and full of beautiful, floral flavor. The secret behind this drink? The hibiscus flower! It makes one lovely pink syrup that makes the most delightful cocktails. It’s one of those drinks where you shout Wow! after the first sip. We tried it along with the prickly pair margarita and both pink drinks were big winners. In fact, this one might at the top of my favorite unique margarita recipes.

Ingredients in a hibiscus margarita

How do you make a margarita into a hibiscus margarita? This drink is one of the most popular classic cocktails of all time, invented in Mexico in the 1930’s. The classic way to make it is with just tequila, triple sec and lime juice, like in our Classic Margarita. But add hibiscus syrup and it comes a hibiscus margarita. Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

• Tequila
• Triple Sec (or Cointreau)
• Lime juice
• Hibiscus syrup

What is hibiscus syrup?

Hibiscus syrup is a syrup made with the petals of the hibiscus flower. The syrup is perfect for adding color and a floral element to cocktails (more on that, below)! Store-bought hibiscus syrup may have a little artificial coloring, but you can also make homemade syrup to be all natural. Here’s what to know about this unique syrup:

• What does hibiscus syrup taste like? It tastes floral and citrusy, with a delicate sweet tart flavor.
• Where to buy hibiscus syrup? You can find it at some liquor stores, but it’s easiest to find online. Try this 25 ounce bottle of hibiscus syrup.
• Can you make hibiscus syrup? You can, if you happen to have fresh hibiscus flowers! Here’s a recipe.

The best tequila and Triple Sec to use

What’s the right tequila and Triple Sec for a hibiscus margarita? Surprisingly, it’s not what we use in our standard margarita. Here’s the type of tequila we recommend:

• The best tequila for this margarita? Tequila blanco. Typically we prefer tequila reposado, aged tequila, for its sophisticated and nuanced flavor. But in a hibiscus margarita, you want the floral nature of the syrup to shine through! Reposado would compete too much.
• The best orange liqueur for this margarita? Triple Sec. Usually we opt for Cointreau, which adds sophistication and warm spices. But again, you don’t want to compete with the floral syrup! Triple Sec has a more straightforward orange flavor.

That said: if all you have is tequila reposado and Cointreau: you can use those too! It still makes an incredibly tasty drink.

Make it as a single drink, or a hibiscus margarita pitcher!

The hibiscus margarita takes just 5 minutes to shake up: but if you’re making drinks for a crowd, you’d be shaking them all night long! That’s where a pitcher comes in. It’s fast and easy: just place all these ingredients in a 8-serving pitcher:

• 1 ½ cups tequila
• ½ cup Triple Sec or Cointreau
• 1 cup lime juice
• 1 cup hibiscus syrup
• 3 handfuls ice

Stir it together, and you’ve got 8 lovely pink hibiscus margaritas. Let us know what you think of this recipe in the comments below!

More hibiscus drinks and cocktails

Once you buy a big bottle of hibiscus syrup: what else is there to do with it? There are lots of hibiscus drinks and cocktails to try: you’ve just got to get a little creative! Here are a few of our top ideas for hibiscus drinks:

• Hibiscus Spritz: Mix it with Prosecco and soda water (in this spritz, use half as much syrup as St Germain)
• Hibiscus Gin Sour: Substitute hibiscus syrup in this Gin Sour
• Hibiscus Mule: Add ½ ounce hibiscus syrup to a Moscow Mule
• Hibiscus Shirley Temple: Substitute hibiscus syrup for grenadine in a Shirley Temple

When to serve a hibiscus margarita

The hibiscus margarita is impressive and unique! It works as a:

• Summer drink
• Cinco de Mayo drink
• Happy hour drink
• Dinner party drink
• Late night drinks drink
• Guys or girls night drink
• Cocktail hour drink

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