So we have all heard of a Tequila Sunrise, but how about Sunset Margaritas? These…are dangerous. They taste so sweet and fresh, with a perfect balance of flavors. Freshly squeezed lime and orange juices with a little surprise at the end. No tequila was harmed during the making of this blog post. I’m lying. Whole bottle, gone. Let’s just call it experimental mixology. (I had help from my little brother, former bartender.) 

Sugar Sunset Margaritas with Fresh Citrus Juice

Me and the margarita, we are good friends. Our favorite is the classic lime margarita, served in a big bowl glass on the rocks.

But sometimes you want a little something different. Something fresh. Something a little lighter and not as …what’s the word for that taste margaritas leave in your mouth after you have had a couple? Too tart? Maybe it is the triple sec that most margaritas use.

In my imagination, when I think back to the birth of the first margarita known to man (genius)….you know it had to be simple. I bet it was mostly fresh lime juice, some tequila, and salt. My quest for the fresher margarita starts at this point. No triple sec, no orange liqueur.

For our Sugar Sunset Margarita we went with fresh squeezed juices. No additives, not bottled, with the pulp. Love me some pulp. Don’t like pulp? Strain it, no worries.

In a chilled glass, wet the rim with lime juice. Dip the glass into a shallow bowl of sugar.

(Why not salt? The first two versions of this drink we made had salt. But the combination of salt, orange juice, and lime juice gave it a grapefruit flavor. Tasted yummy, but it wasn’t the flavor we were going for. So we changed to sugar.)

Enjoy your margaritas with these recipes:

Homemade Black Bean Enchiladas

Grilled Fiesta Lime Chicken with Fresh Pico de Gallo

Carnitas Tacos + Sweet Cilantro Slaw

Add a splash of club soda. Top with about 2 tablespoons of lime, 1 tablespoon of simple syrup, then add 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of silver tequila of choice. Feel free to adjust to your taste.

Please excuse the free pour that my renegade brother is demonstrating. Not recommended, and is the primary reason why the entire bottle vanished. Clearly a violation of Sugar Sunset Margaritas recipe.

Layer in 4 tablespoons of fresh orange juice. Give the drink a gentle stir. Just a little to distribute the liquor.

And here’s the little surprise. We went through several options…we tried blueberry pomegranate V-8, we tried a cranberry-pomegranate juice…but what made the perfect color and taste ?

The answer? The cheapest carbonated fruit punch soda you can find. Any brand will do.  Yep. To all of that glorious, healthy, fresh, pure fruit juice…add some cheap sugary kids soda.

Top your drink slowly with the fruit punch and enjoy! The colors slowly marble, until the sunset sky reverses.

Sugar Sunset Margaritas are refreshing, sweet but not too sweet, bright, and easy to drink. (A little too easy, haha.) Also this is a great drink for the kids if you leave out the tequila.

You can make these Sugar Sunset Margaritas as you go, or you can combine all of the ingredients in a pitcher except the fruit punch, adding it to the top of each glass as you go.

This drink is going to be some pool-side sipping this summer for sure.

5 from 1 vote

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Sugar Sunset Margaritas

Author Buy This Cook That

Buy This

• 8 oranges
• 6 limes
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar plus additional for rims
• Fifth of Tequila light, silver
• 1 bottle carbonated fruit soda chilled
• Club Soda chilled
• Ice

Cook That

1. The ingredients will make several drinks. The instructions below are for one single serve drink.
2. Juice all of the citrus fruit. For personalizing each drink based on preference of taste, keep the juice in separate containers.
3. To make a simply syrup, in a small pan, combine sugar and water over low heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Cool.
4. Wet the rim of a chilled glass with lime juice. Invert glass and dip into sugar. Fill glass with crushed ice.
5. In order, pour the following over ice:
6. 2 TB club soda
7. 2 TB lime juice
8. 1 1/2 to 2 ounces Tequila
9. 1 TB simple syrup
10. 4 TB orange juice.
11. Stir gently, and top with a splash of carbonated fruit punch soda.
12. Enjoy!