Thanksgiving Margaritas (large format)

This make-ahead Thanksgiving Margarita recipe is the perfect cocktail for Thanksgiving and the entire fall season. It's essentially a vanilla maple margarita that combines all the usual ingredients of a classic margarita, plus a touch of maple syrup for sweetness, and hint of vanilla and cinnamon for extra fall flavor. It's a really balanced, delicious drink that doesn't even require a cocktail shaker.

The flavors of vanilla, maple, and cinnamon in this thanksgiving margarita recipe add the perfect hint of warmth to contrast all the bright acidity in a margarita. It's really the perfect cocktail to pair with a hearty Thanksgiving meal.

You can easily make these Thanksgiving maple margaritas ahead of time and serve them in a pitcher. Then your guests can serve themselves a marg or 2 over ice whenever they're ready.

How to make Thanksgiving Margaritas

Like with any good margarita, a few simple ingredients go a long way to delivering the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors. The perfect Thanksgiving margarita builds on the basics in a way that compliments the core flavors and doesn't overpower them. it turns out maple and vanilla complement tequila and lime SO nicely.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need: (you may already have a lot of these ingredients in your pantry.)

For the cocktail:

• White/ Blanco Tequila
• Orange liqueur
• Fresh lime juice (This inexpensive electric citrus juicer is the best way to get the most juice out of each lime. It's one of those tools you won't use often, but will be so thankful you have it when you need it.)
• Real maple syrup
• Water
• Vanilla Extract

For the rim and garnish:

• Ground cinnamon
• Sugar
• Cinnamon sticks for garnish
• Lime wedges for garnish
• Ice

"Equipment"

• A 64-ounce pitcher. (this recipe makes 53 ounces of liquid total) The pitcher linked here has a stopper lid for easy traveling.
• A pack of 6 oz clear plastic tumblers (perfect size for one 4oz serving of margaritas plus ice)

See Recipe Card for exact amounts

Instructions

To make a batch of Thanksgiving Margaritas, here's what you'll have to do.

Step 1: Start by combining all the liquid ingredients in a pitcher. That's the tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, maple syrup, water and vanilla extract. The water helps dilute the cocktail slightly because we're not shaking it with ice. Stir for 10 seconds, or until the maple syrup is completely mixed into the rest of the liquid.

Step 2: Place the pitcher in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Meanwhile set up the drinks table with an ice bucket, those 6 oz plastic tumblers, cinnamon sticks, a small bowl of lime wedges, and a small plate with the cinnamon sugar mixture. You can do all of this hours in advance! (aside from the ice, of course)

Step 3: When your guests arrive, fill the ice bucket with ice, and place the cold margarita pitcher on the serving table.

Step 4: To make one cocktail, fill a tumbler with ice, pour the margarita mixture over it, and garnish with whatever you like! Allow each guest to make and garnish their own perfect Thanksgiving margarita.

Top Thanksgiving Margarita Tips

• I almost always use clear plastic tumblers when serving large batch cocktails, especially at large holiday gatherings. But for smaller more intimate gatherings, feel free to use real margarita glasses or rocks glasses. Regardless, 6 ounce glasses work best for this recipe.
• If your guests are unfamiliar with your DYI margarita station, demonstrate! First use a lime wedge to wet the rim of the glass. Then dip the rim of your glass in the cinnamon sugar. Fill your glass with ice. And finally, pour the marg, and garnish with a cinnamon stick and lime wedge.

Variations on this Maple Margarita

There are a few ways you can modify the recipe to slightly alter the fall flavors in these Thanksgiving margaritas.

• Place some apple juice, fresh apple cider, or apple slices on your cocktail serving station for a more apple-forward fall margarita.
• Top with sparkling wine, prosecco, or club soda to make the drink bubbly
• Instead of a cinnamon sugar rim, make a pumpkin pie spice rim. Simply replace the cinnamon with pumpkin spice mix, and use the same amount of sugar.
• Use Mezcal for a slightly smoky tasting margarita. This variation is especially exciting if you'll be drinking around a fire pit this Thanksgiving.

More Fall Cocktails

• Try my Orange Ginger Margarita for another refreshing take on the classic margarita !
• If you want something less citrusy, you can also try my Rosé Spritz with Rosemary Vodka.

Note:

This recipe utilizes Serious Eats' Classic Margarita Recipe as a guide. However it calls for a slightly reduced percentage of orange liquor. That's because orange liquor is sweet, and so is the maple syrup in this recipe.

Recipe

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