This tasty and oh so festive Holly Jolly Christmas cranberry margarita will have you singing Christmas carols in no time… This festive cranberry Christmas cocktail is spiced with a fresh ginger cinnamon syrup and topped with a snowy frosted rosemary sprig for that holly jolly touch. Nothing says ‘holiday’ like this tequila-spiked cranberry margarita!

A couple of things that give this cocktail character, flare, flavor, and backbone: extra festive garnishes, a spiced rim, and homemade simple syrup! This drink is totally about holiday inspiration, so I had to go all out and make little sugared rosemary garnishes and a nice spiced syrup! These few extra touches just yell out: “Sip Me and Be Merry!”

Make A Cinnamon Ginger Syrup

This page contains affiliate links which allow me to earn small commissions from qualifying purchases of fun and favorite products at no cost to you.

It all starts off with this super delicious and simple ginger cinnamon syrup.

I’ll chop/cube fresh ginger and toss it in a pot with whole cinnamon sticks and equal parts water and sugar to create a spiced syrup.

Simmering these ingredients together basically just smells like Christmas. The fragrance itself is amazing and it will add the most delicious depth and special touch to your cocktails. Once you’re finished simmering and straining this syrup, you’re basically left with this gorgeous deep amber toned container of deliciousness. You’ll want to chill the finished syrup and store the syrup in an airtight container and use within a couple of weeks.

Rim Cocktail Glass With Spiced Sugar

To begin assembling the cocktail, start by giving your glass a nice spiced rim. I combine a dash of white sugar and cinnamon (you could also use a little allspice) together on a small flat plate. You could also use a little bottle of ready-made McCormick cinnamon sugar.

Rub the rim of your glass with a lime wedge. Now dip the glass in the mixture moving the glass around a bit to ensure it gets covered all around. It will come out with a nice thin coating of cinnamon sugar. If you like that salty hit with your tequila margarita, use coarse sea salt instead!

Mix a festive Christmas Cranberry Margarita

Set the rimmed glass aside and grab a cocktail shaker. In your shaker, add lime juice, your ginger cinnamon spiced syrup, a splash of cranberry juice, and a good quality tequila of your choice. Here I’ve used one of my favorite tequilas for mixing with cocktails: Espolón Reposado tequila. It’s clean tasting and versatile which allows it to blend beautifully into the finished Christmas cocktail.

I had the opportunity to attend a launch event for this particular spirit here in Chicago a little while back and was impressed when I tasted many of their hand-crafted cocktails (among them a super delicious Paloma).

I thought the tequila blended well into the drinks and made for tasty and easy cocktails… Now, back to the recipe at hand!

You’ll want to stir all the ingredients in your cocktail shaker with a bar spoon (or put the lid on and shake) until chilled through and combined.

Serve Christmas cranberry Cocktail

Pour everything into your rimmed glasses over fresh ice and garnish with a little sugared rosemary sprig and some cranberries! (Stay tuned below to see how I put together these rosemary garnishes…)

You’ll taste a balanced sweetness from the lime and cranberry combo in these fun Christmas margaritas. Then subtle spice notes from the fresh ginger and cinnamon syrup sneak in and make everything so tasty…

It becomes very hard to put down. The tequila stands up well to all the flavors in the cocktail but also blends perfectly. This is nothing less than a super delicious and festive Christmas cocktail you’re gonna want to mix up just in time to entertain for a festive holiday weekend.

Garnish christmas margarita with Frosted Rosemary Sprig

You’ll have a delicious holiday inspired Christmas cranberry margarita perfect for sipping while you trim that tree!

Don’t skip out on the sugared rosemary sprigs! They really look like they’re frosted with a dusting of fresh snow! I just love this look and wanted to create something that gave the cocktail a snowy holiday look. It really is the perfect festive finishing touch.

Make frosted sugared rosemary sprigs

To create this, take a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and dip them in plain simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar heated to combine). Let them drip a little then place them on a wire rack to let the simple syrup set a bit. About 1 or 2 hours.

You can make the simple syrup yourself or keep a few bottles of Stirrings simple syrup handy. It’s perfect for little jobs like this and a must-have for mixing up cocktails on the fly. While you’re at it, don’t forget to pick up a few packs of fresh rosemary for the garnish.

After that, take the sprigs of rosemary and dip them in white sugar. Grab a paper plate and pour some plain white sugar on it. You can use this as a flat surface to dip/roll your rosemary sprigs in.

Set them back on the wire rack to continue drying with fresh dusting of sugar on them. You’ll be left with these frosty rosemary garnishes! Perfect for a holiday cocktail. I let mine set overnight in the fridge and they looked great for use the next day.

Serve this cranberry Christmas cocktail recipe at a festive holiday gathering or pour for all your guys and gals! These super pretty amber geometric cocktail glasses bump up the presentation and add an elegant touch for serving. They even make a nice holiday gift!

Have everyone over for a fun ugly sweater nite and play all your favorite holiday flicks while you pour, toast, sip & repeat… Serve alongside this simple cranberry bbq cocktail meatball appetizer!

If it’s bubbly you’re lookin’ for, be sure to pop over to these very merry Pama Liqueur Christmas mimosas!

You Might Also Like…