This Blackberry Jalapeño Margarita is the perfect cocktail to enjoy all year round. It’s sweet, sour, and spicy, which makes it the best weekend or taco Tuesday cocktail. As the name suggests, it’s made using sweet blackberries, jalapenos, simple syrup, Cointreau, and fresh lime juice. Just like the Pineapple Mezcal Margarita, it’s refreshing and super easy to make.
The key to making the best margarita is using fresh ingredients and proper measurements. This cocktail has a complex flavor profile of sweet, sour, and spicy. If not measured or prepared correctly, we risk having an unbalanced cocktail that could be too spicy or sour.
Blackberry Jalapeño Margarita ingredients
- Fresh lime juice is best for margaritas because it adds a true lime flavor to the cocktail and no other unnecessary ingredients.
- Fresh blackberries will work great in this cocktail, especially sweet ones.
- Simple syrup for added sweetness and texture
- Jalapeños for spice. You can use a different style of pepper if you prefer.
- Cointreau liqueur is essential for margaritas. The orange liqueur complements the lime and agave flavor by adding balance and rounding out the cocktail.
- Tequila of your choice. I’m using reposado.
Should you use Triple Sec or Cointreau in a margarita?
Triple sec and Cointreau are orange liqueurs, and you can use either based on preference and availability.
Triple Sec is a clear, dry, flavored orange liqueur made from unripened orange peels steeped in a base spirit.
Cointreau is a clear, premium orange liqueur made from sweet and bitter orange peels. It has notes of warm spices and a sweet and bitter balance. It is more complex than Triple Sec and has a smoother finish.
I prefer Cointreau, but either one will make a good margarita.
How to make spicy Blackberry jalapeño margarita
Add the fresh lime juice, simple syrup, blackberries, and jalapeños to a shaker. Muddle the blackberries and jalapeños slices until they have broken down. I used two jalapeños, and that was just enough for me. When muddling, press down firmly enough to break the jalapeños.
*Try not to keep the cocktail sitting too long because the longer it sits, the spicier the cocktail will become. So once you’ve muddled, move on to the next step rather quickly.
Add in the Cointreau, tequila, and ice, and shake until chilled.
Double strain the cocktail into a glass over ice and garnish with blackberries and a jalapeño slice. You want to be sure not to get any seeds into your cocktail, so use a fine mesh strainer if you have one.
Other cocktail recipes to try!
PrintBlackberry Jalapeno Margarita
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
- Category: Tequila
- Method: Shake
Description
A sweet and spicy margarita made with fresh blackberries and jalapeños. Perfect for the summer and winter sipping.
Ingredients
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 5 fresh blackberries
- 3 Jalapeño slices
- 1/2 oz Cointreau
- 2 oz Tequila
- Ice
- Fresh blackberries and jalapeño for garnish
Instructions
- Add the fresh lime juice, simple syrup, blackberries, and jalapeños to a shaker. Muddle the blackberries and jalapeños slices until they have broken down.
- Add in the Cointreau, tequila, and ice, and shake until chilled.
- Strain the cocktail into a glass over ice and garnish.
Notes
- Control the spice of the cocktail by not letting the jalapeños sit/infuse in the shaker too long. The longer the jalapeños sit in the cocktail, the spicier the drink will be.
- Another way to infuse jalapeño flavor is to make a jalapeño simple syrup
Keywords: Blackberry jalapeno margarita, blackberry margarita