Cherry Mint Margaritas
Combining two summer favorites into one fabulous cocktail; this Cherry Mint Margarita is a winner!
I had the best intentions; I was determined that today would be a brand new cocktail. I’ve got the rum and the recipe and a fun one it is for Father’s Day…be on the lookout now for some Lime Sherbet!
But I’m not there yet. Today was finish a walkway day and buy the lumber for my deck day and make a pound cake for a homemade strawberry shortcake day and best intentions went by the wayside day.
Luckily I’ve got almost 300 cocktails on this blog; many most of you have never seen…and if you have? Be honest, you probably forgot them anyhow! This one deserves another chance…don’t forget it this time OK?
Funny…but I was telling the same tale three years ago when I first published this drink…will this yard ever be done?
Originally Published July 2014
I usually try to make the cocktails I do for Friday Cocktails ahead of time. Ideally a week ahead of time but the last few months I’ve been swamped with new house stuff; both indoors and outdoors and I’m lagging behind.
I feel lucky to get a cocktail done on Wednesday or Thursday for a post on Friday; luckily the attention to my yard has paid off even if I am so very late today! These Cherry Mint Margaritas? I just finished getting them made today at 12 noon. Uh oh.
It’s a week of being tardy; yesterday was National Tequila Day and I missed that too. Hope this gem makes up for that faux pas; it’s a real winner.
Still I didn’t want to postpone posting this drink, I just knew it would be fabulous and it is. I was lucky to find some organic cherries yesterday from Colorado but I know the cherry season is waning.
But wait…I have a tip that I was reminded of the other day when I looked at this cocktail which laughs at the short cherry season. Cherries nowhere to be found? Use some cherry preserves in lieu of fresh cherries and sugar; you won’t’ miss anything at all!
An unexpected hint of mint brightens the entire drink and seriously the first one is almost gone. Glad I made two. 🙂
You know about mint right; how it will take over in your garden? I’ve always planted it in a 5 gallon paint bucket that I then put into the ground and that controls it’s spreading.
This year with everything in pots I planted it with rosemary, thyme and chives. It’s got a reputation and it’s determined to keep it…it started as one little plant; look at how much it’s spread! But no matter; just glad to have it and I’m going to make sure I use it; this cocktail was the perfect choice! Cheers!
More of our Favorite Margaritas
Cherry Mint Margaritas
Ingredients
- Lime wedge sugar and salt (equal amounts combined) for rimming glass
- ¼ cup fresh bing cherries pitted
- 6 mint leaves
- Sugar to sprinkle
- 2 Tbsp agave nectar or simple syrup
- 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 4-6 Tbsp Tequila silver or blanco (clear)
- 2 Tbsp cherry liqueur or to taste
- Club soda chilled
- Mint leaves and Cherries with stems to garnish
Instructions
- Using a cut lime wedge, rub the lime around the outer edge of two chilled glasses; dip the glasses in the combination of salt and sugar. Fill the glass with ice.
- Put the cherries and mint into a cocktail shaker, sprinkle with sugar and muddle with a muddler tool or a wooden spoon.
- Add the agave nectar, lime juice, tequila and cherry liqueur and fill the shaker with ice.
- Shake vigorously for 10-12 times; strain over 2 glasses, top off with the chilled club soda and garnish with a mint sprig and cherry with stem.
This looks refreshing and delicious! Great post!!
Thank you! I absolutely love them and now anxiously waiting to see the first cherries come into the margarita; this is the perfect summer cocktail!
Why shake only 10 or 12 times…
I’m always happy to see old friends! And this is a good one — lovely combo of flavors. Thanks!
Do you remember these older cocktails? I sometimes don’t! But I need to…I loved some of them so much and only made them once. Now I can say I made Cherry Mint Margaritas TWICE! 🙂
Grethe Munk siger:Enig. Klar kommunikation om hvordan man kan motivere uden løftede pegefingre. Må også kunne bruges som leiceslsddseiplin.Grethe Munk
These sound so good! Is it the weekend yet?! I need at least 2 right now!
They are wonderful Eden…but in all honestly I like SO many of the drinks I’ve made for Friday Cocktails there isn’t enough days in the week for me to get to enjoy the ones I love enough. Not a bad problem I know. 🙂
Just made the cocktail – delicious! Just wondering what I’m suppose to do with the club soda in the ingredients in recipe. Thanks!
Thanks for getting back to me. I read the recipe times before making a comment. ; ) That’s what I thought (top with club soda). I like to use lime sparkling water. Your recipe only make one cocktail for me. My glass must be bigger! I went easy on the tequila! ; ) I also kept adding sparkling water. Delicious!
Yum! Perfect weekend drink!
Thanks…or for me that day I think it was a perfect Thursday morning libation? I don’t do that often but sometimes if there is fruit I can convince myself it’s OK to sip one. Not two, thought I would have liked to! Thanks for stopping by!
Wow, this looks fantastic. I adore Don Julio, however, so if I bought the bottle I’d be more apt to throw it over ice and drink it straight!
Imagine that for a blog post. Sure would make that Friday Cocktail week easier! 🙂
I’m with Nancy Buchanan! This is a gorgeous looking cocktail…makes me very thirsty just looking at your beautiful photos.
P.S. Your herb garden is beautiful.
I have maybe 10 big pots of flowers, tomatoes and herbs; I know it’s simple stuff but it also makes me extraordinarily happy!
I am not sure what I love most about this post – the gorgeous photo and glasses, the cool twist on a margarita (salt and sugar rim) or the gorgeous shot of your flowers…. so I am just gonna go with “all the above”!!!
Now, I am off to find either fresh cherries or good cherry preserves to make this drink!!!
Thanks Nancy…it truly was a very tasty margarita; made some more last night and they disappeared; even the guys love them!
These look amazing. Great job.
That drink is the most outstanding color! I’m imagining the taste but I’ll have to wait for cherry season. Won’t be long!
I also have used cherry jam for cocktails Maureen…so I don’t have to wait for the SHORT cherry season. A couple of spoonfuls of jam in any drink can be a good substitute for a fruit/sugar combination that is called for.
I just used my cherries for a pie but I will be rushing to the store to get some more so that I can make this gorgeous drink. Seriously, how do you come up with all these delicious combinations???
Just like food recipes I’m inspired by seasonal produce and what’s more seasonal now than cherries (quick, before they’re gone!). Thanks Betsy; your kind words are music to my ears!
I have a Montmorency cherry tree in my back yard, and am always looking for recipes to use those cherries for. Do you think this recipe could be adapted for my red sour pie cherries? Do you have any ideas other than pie or jam? I still have cherries in the freezer from last year, and this year’s crop is about to ripen…yikes!
Absolutely; you would probably just need to add more sugar. I love homemade maraschino liqueur which you can use them for. I will come take your extras off your hands! 🙂
Your beverages make me smile, Barb. Pinned for good measure. Cheers to a great weekend!
Thanks…that is sort of the perfect response! Cheers!
Love those photos! And the glasses. And the recipe. Just a perfect post. 😉 You outdid yourself with this one — thanks.
Aw thanks John…coming from you that is high praise and I’ll take it with pleasure! 🙂
This looks like a super refreshing drink, especially after working in the yard on a hot day. Since it is made with Don Julio, I know it’s good. Beautiful color.
One of those that went down so easily I wondered if I had put the tequila in it…but I knew I had. I’ve got a couple of cups of cherries left; think I need to freeze them for later this summer!