Say hello to your new favorite cocktail, the cool, refreshing Blackberry Basil Margarita! A lot of familiar margarita ingredients are showing their face, but the addition of fresh, slightly sweet, mildly tart blackberries alongside fresh, muddled basil is just over the top delicious.
Seriously, if you are a fan of basil, you will love the way these taste! The herb gives the cocktail lemony, citrus notes that are complemented beautifully by the fresh berries. One sip, and you’ll want these blackberry margaritas on repeat all summer long!
Love this drink? Be sure to check out our Pineapple Margarita and our Blood Orange Margarita recipes!
Ingredients For A Blackberry Margarita
- Blackberries: Gotta have fresh berries, both for muddling and to use as a garnish!
- Fresh basil: Sorry, you can’t used dried here.
- Simple syrup or agave nectar: To sweeten the cocktail
- Tequila: We’ll talk about the differences in tequila varieties below, but our favorite for margs is Casamigos Tequila Blanco
- Fresh lime juice: Don’t even think about using the bottled stuff!
- Cointreau: If you don’t have Cointreau, yes, you can substitute with Triple Sec.
- Kosher salt, to rim the glass
For serving, we recommending a garnish of more blackberries, basil, and lime wedges, slices, or wheels. It’s seriously the most beautiful margarita recipe!
Because the ingredients in this cocktail recipe are muddled, you’ll need either a sieve, fine-mesh strainer, or a cocktail shaker with straining lid.
How To Make The Best Blackberry Margarita
Run a lime wedge along the rim of the glass, then dip upside down into a small plate or shallow bowl filled with Kosher salt. Fill with ice — either crushed ice or a large ice cube as we’ve shown below.
Place fresh blackberries in the cup of a cocktail shaker (or mason jar), then add basil leaves and ½ oz of simple syrup (or agave). Use a muddler to crush the blackberries and bruise the basil.
Fill the shaker with ice, then add tequila, fresh lime juice, and Cointreau (or Triple Sec). Secure lid, then shake for 10-12 seconds to aerate the drink and blend it all together.
Strain into prepared glass, using either the cocktail strainer or a sieve (discard the solids), then serve with additional blackberries, basil, and/or a slice of lime for garnish.
Note: if making this margarita recipe in a standard size cocktail shaker, we recommend making 1 drink at a time. If you try to double or triple the recipe, there ends up being too much blackberries and basil to muddle appropriately.
Our Favorite Tequilas For Margaritas
- Casamigos (750ml at $35.99) – hands down, this is the only tequila we use on a regular basis. It’s smooth, herbaceous, and made with 100% agave. Highly, highly recommend.
- Casa Noble Crystal (750ml at $34.99) – this tequila packs a little more punch than Casamigos. If you’re looking for a bit more character (think slightly smoky or peppery tones), this may be the one for you.
- Herradura Blanco Tequila (750ml at $38.49) – this well known tequila is often the liquid of choice for classic margs, and for good reason — it’s not Patron (overhyped), but similarly will not overwhelm the other flavors of your cocktail.
Tequilas of lesser quality can be used, but they tend to lead to a lingering hangover. No? Just us? Maybe that’s what aging does to ya…
With all of these, you’ll note that they are tequila blanco, or silver tequila, not tequila reposado. Tequila reposado typically has a dark, amber brown color and a more intense taste. Usually reserved for sipping, we prefer the fruitier tequila blanco with its light, clean taste.
I Don’t Have Cointreau. Can I Use Grand Marnier?
Yes, just don’t expect the flavor to be exactly the same. Both Cointreau and Grand Marnier are orange-flavored liqueurs, but the latter also has Cognac in the mix. It tends to have a stronger flavor, and is also more expensive. We use Cointreau in all of our margarita recipes!
Menu Ideas For Cinco De Mayo
Can’t sing the praises of these Sheet Pan Fajitas enough! These with some chips, guacamole, and queso is my idea of heaven.
Other recipes to serve at your Cinco de Mayo celebration:
I’m telling you, you will not be able to put this cocktail down! The basil is bright, lemony, and fragrant, while the blackberries add the perfect fruity, tart touch. It is the most refreshing margarita ever!
If you make this Blackberry Margarita recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below! Cheers!
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More cocktail recipes to try!
- Classic Margarita Recipe
- Blood Orange Margarita
- Pomegranate Tequila Cosmo
- Paper Plane Cocktail
- French 75
Blackberry Basil Margarita Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup blackberries plus more for serving
- 4 basil leaves plus more for serving
- ½ oz simple syrup or agave nectar
- 1 ½ oz tequila blanco such as Casamigos
- 1 ½ oz lime juice plus lime wheels or wedges for serving
- 1 oz Cointreau
- Kosher salt for rim of glass
Instructions
- Muddle the blackberries and basil. Place ¼ cup fresh blackberries in the cup of a cocktail shaker, then add basil leaves and ½ oz of simple syrup (or agave). Use a muddler to crush the blackberries and bruise the basil.
- Add remaining ingredients. Fill the shaker with ice, then add 1 ½ oz tequila, 1 ½ oz fresh lime juice, and 1 oz Cointreau. Secure lid, then shake for 10-12 seconds to aerate the drink.
- Prepare the glass, then serve. Run a lime wedge along the rim of a glass, then dip upside down into a shallow bowl of kosher salt. Place ice in glass (optional). Strain into glass and serve with additional blackberries, basil, and/or lime for garnish.
Notes
- Note: if using a standard size cocktail shaker, we recommend making 1 drink at a time. Otherwise, there are too many blackberries and basil in the cocktail shaker to muddle appropriately. Certainly you can make this in larger quantities in a larger shaker or glass jar.
- To make simple syrup: Combine equal parts water and sugar in a small saucepan, then heat without bringing to a boil until the sugar has melted. We recommend using 1 cup of each, then storing leftover simple syrup in a squeeze bottle or airtight container. When sealed and stored in a refrigerator, simple syrup will keep for weeks.
Nutrition
Photography by: Pate of The G&M Kitchen
As always, this was delightful. Made the for the whole family and all raved how refreshing it was!
Erin, I’m so thrilled you tried this marg!! I think the basil is just such a nice touch. Cheers! xo, Ari