Who turns down a refreshing summer cocktail, especially a pretty one? Some folks will turn their nose up at anything but the classic margarita, but I’d suggest a sip of this fresh raspberry margarita might win them over.

I adapted my recipe from one in this month’s Cooking Light  for a batch of gooseberry margaritas. I’m not certain I’ve ever seen a gooseberry here in San Diego, but the CLrecipe suggested raspberries as a substitute – and those I could find, of course. I cut back on the sugar, increased the Grand Marnier and decided to stick with salt only on the rim – no extra sugar or ground red pepper. I have discovered that you really want a salted rim with a fruity cocktail to balance the sweetness. I should switch out the sugared rims for salted in my recipe for watermelon margaritas…

At the last minute, I dropped the club soda. I wanted the cocktails as undiluted as possible, so I used stemmed glasses, a cocktail shaker and did not serve the drinks over ice. Because our martini glasses are packed away during our house remodel, I found these wine glasses that date back to 1922, when my grandparents married in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I seldom use them, terrified one will be broken, but thought they would be perfect for our raspberry margaritas.

TIP: Chill your glasses in the fridge for several hours before serving the cocktails.

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Fresh Raspberry Margaritas

Author: Liz the Chef

Prep time:  20 mins

Total time:  20 mins

 

Serves: 6 four-ounce cocktails

 

A twist on the classic margarita, using fresh raspberries and Meyer lemons.

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh raspberries,


• ¼ cup white sugar


• ¼ cup water


• ½ cup Meyer lemon juice


• 1 cup white tequila


• 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier


• 3 tablespoons sea salt


• 1 Meyer lemon wedge

 

Instructions

1. Chill 4 martini glasses – or any stemmed glasses large enough to hold the cocktail.


2. Place raspberries in a food processor and purée until smooth.


3. Using a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Heat just until sugar has dissolved. Pour into a bowl, add the mashed berries and allow to cool.


4. Force the mashed berries through a fine sieve to remove as many seeds as possible.


5. Combine the berries, lemon juice, tequila and Grand Marnier in a pitcher. Chill in fridge at least 2 hours.


6. Pour sea salt into a small plate.


7. Rub the rims of each martini glass with the lemon wedge.


8. Dip and twirl the rim of each glass in the sea salt.


9. Pour 2 cups of the margaritas into a cocktail shaker filled with ice, reserving the rest of the margaritas for refills. Shake for 30 seconds, strain and pour into prepared glasses.