The passion fruit margarita is a delicious tropical cocktail, perfect for a warm weather staycation by the pool. This fruity drink features some deliciously vibrant ingredients, putting a unique spin on a classic margarita.
Bringing passion fruit into a margarita is a tricky business. I ended up making around 6 variations, trying to perfect the balance between the fruit, tequila, and orange liqueur. The recipe below is a result of these variations and plenty of willing taste testers at the time.
For more unique tequila-based cocktails, take a sip of the Rosemary Paloma or Cadillac Margarita.
Fresh Passion Fruit vs Liqueur
Originating from Brazil, the passion fruit is a bit on the tart side, and sometimes sour, which I think pairs well in a margarita environment. If you opt into using fresh fruit, use the pulp and seeds; it is all edible!
Cut the fruit in half and scoop out the insides into the shaker. Keep the other half handy to use as a garnish.
You can also buy a bunch of passion fruit when you see it at the grocery store or farmers market, stick it in an ice cube tray, and freeze it to use later, a few cubes at a time.
Because of the flavors of passion fruit, much less lime is needed than a regular margarita.
At the time of making this, I was unable to get good fresh passion fruit, but a liqueur worked really well. If you use the fresh fruit, your cocktail will turn out a lot more orange than pink. The brand available to me locally was Passoa Passionfruit Liqueur, which was a bit sweeter than the real fruit.
If you prefer your cocktails on the sweeter side, this is certainly the direction you should take.
Recipe
Passion Fruit Margarita Cocktail
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Salt half the rim of a margarita glass.
- Combine ingredients into a shaker filled with ice.
- Shake vigorously for 20 seconds and strain into a glass.
