sage & tangerine margarita

photo credit anbanet.com


Margaritas may not scream winter, but they do bellow PARTY!!

so, let's cut out the manufacturers and become our own best friend with a 'healthier margarita' served for 1 or 4 (pitcher style)
tangerines, sage, cointreau, lime, tequila

• press tangerine juice from about 6 tangerines. you may dabble with other types of winter citrus if you'd like, grapefruit, blood orange all are perfectly delicious. I'd pair grapefruit with mint though, and the blood orange with some lavender...but I'm a crazy bird.
  

• slap the sage against your palm to release the aromatic properties
• muddle up the sage with half of a pressed tangerine in a shaker- keep the rind (skin) on. You don't really need the juicy pulp- it's the rind that will release the oils and make the muddling worth it.
  
• put ice in the shaker
• add 1/2 oz of cointreau
• 2 oz of tequila
• squeeze 2 lime wedges on top
• strain and pour into a snifter full of ice
  
• garnish with a tangerine wedge & a sage leaf
  

If making this in pitcher form, press about 15 tangerines, muddle up a handful of sage, add 8-10 oz of tequila (or more)
and 2 oz of cointreau


The best part about this margarita is that you are cutting out the packaging and excess sugars in manufactured products. You pressed the juice, you muddled the sage, and now you get to reap the sweet rewards of this too good to be true margarita!