Blackberry Margarita

When it comes to fruit and margaritas, limes are the go-to for the classic cocktail. While classics are classics for a reason, here at Delish, we love to riff on the standard margarita to match the season or the holiday. Now, we offer a new-for-the-summer tequila cocktail: the blackberry margarita. Juicy fresh blackberries are in season in July and August in most of the U.S. and have a balanced sweet, tart, and tangy flavor. We have muddled the berries into two different mojitos, but we wanted more than crushed berries for this cocktail. What’s the best way to get all of the fresh berry flavor into a margarita? A blackberry syrup. Keep reading on for how to make it:

DIY blackberry syrup:
To make a syrup that is full of berry flavor, fresh blackberries are quickly simmered in a simple syrup and crushed with a potato masher. The cooled fresh syrup is just lightly sweet so the sugar doesn’t overpower the fruit flavor. (The syrup can easily be doubled if you want a more blackberry-forward drink.) The syrup can be refrigerated for 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months.

Classic margaritas fixings:
Like all great margaritas, our blackberry version has blanco tequila and fresh lime juice. There is Cointreau, but we dial it back a bit to keep the drink from being too sweet.

A sweet & salty rim:
Instead of dipping the edge of the glasses in plain salt before serving, we combine sugar, salt, and a little fresh lime zest to complement the flavors of the drink.

Did you try this cocktail? Let us know in the comments!