Winter Citrus Margaritas with Vanilla Bean Salty Sugar
These winter citrus margaritas are made with a mixture of juice from blood oranges, tangelos, and grapefruit! The citrus flavor pairs perfectly with the salty vanilla bean sugar rim, and these can be made pitcher-style for a crowd too!
Ingredients
For the simple syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
For the citrus juice
- juice of 1 blood orange
- juice of 1 tangelo/minneola (if you can't find these, regular oranges, tangerines, or cara cara oranges work!)
- juice of ½ a grapefruit
For the vanilla bean salty sugar
- 2 tablespoons coarse margarita salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- seeds from 1 vanilla bean
For the margarita
- 1 ounce citrus juice
- 1 ounce lime juice
- 1 ounce simple syrup
- 1 ounce gold tequila
- 1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
- blood orange slices for garnish
- tangelo slices for garnish
- cara cara orange slices for garnish
- lime slices for garnish
Instructions
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Make the simple syrup. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add sugar and stir to combine until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely. I like to make it the night before and let chill in the fridge overnight.
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Make the vanilla bean salty sugar. Add salt and sugar to a plate and add vanilla bean seeds. Massage with your fingers and incorporate the seeds into the salt and sugar until combined. Set aside.
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Make the citrus juice. Combine juice of one blood orange, juice of one tangelo, and half a grapefruit in a bowl. Stir to combine.
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Moisten the edge of your glass with a lime wedge. Rim in the salty sugar. Fill the glass with ice. To make the cocktail, add ice to a cocktail shaker. To the shaker, add an ounce of the citrus juice, an ounce of lime juice, an ounce of the simple syrup, the gold tequila, and grand marnier. Shake for 30 seconds and pour into your glass. Garnish with all the citrus slices!