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Festive, sweet, and spicy Whoville’s Spiced Up Christmas Margarita (with mocktail). In-season pomegranate juice, orange juice, tequila, and orange liquor are all mixed together to create a wintery spicy margarita. Warm vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger are mixed together with spicy cayenne and rosemary to add unexpected flavors to this delicious drink. Rim your glasses in spicy cinnamon sugar, and top each drink off with ginger beer. You’ll create a magical holiday cocktail that everyone will love! Oh, and mocktail and punch recipes are included too. I hope you love this Christmas margarita recipe!

Ingredients
- Pomegranate juice
- Tangerine or orange juice
- Tequila
- Orange liquor
- Honey
- Vanilla extract
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground ginger
- Cayenne to taste
- Fresh rosemary
- Ginger beers for topping
- Coarse sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Cinnamon
- Cayenne
What you will need in the kitchen:
- margarita glass
- shaker or mason jar
- punch bowl
- whisk
- small plate
Second to last Christmas cocktail of the season! This makes me SO SAD. Some years I feel like I’ve done all the holiday cocktails I can think up. But this year I didn’t have enough days to share new ideas.
I picked all my favorites though. And as we enter Christmas week, I’m only sharing my most special recipes. The ones I feel extra excited to share!
During the holiday season, I always keep the essentials for a few good cocktails on hand. I like to keep bourbon, vodka, and tequila stocked this time of year. These are my family’s alcohols of choice.
Then I always have cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, limes, and ginger beer in the fridge. These are my go-to mixers. You never know when you’ll need to mix up a quick drink. Best to be prepared! This recipe uses for simple, healthy ingredients for your upcoming festive gatherings.

Details
I wanted this drink to be a warming winter cocktail – spicy, sweet, and festive. My family loves a spicy tequila, so this was sounding perfect. The perfect holiday cocktail for Thanksgiving or to welcome guests in for Christmas parties.
Instead of doing any kind of simple syrup, I kept this very simple. Shake together a mix of pomegranate and orange juice. If your grocery store has them, use clementine or tangerine juice. Then add tequila, orange liquor, and if you’d like, add some honey to sweeten. You could also use maple syrup, or simply omit the sweetener altogether. I do not like an overly sweet drink, so I don’t usually add the honey. It’s up to you!
Add a splash of vanilla, a mix of cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne, and finish with a couple sprigs of rosemary. Give this a really good shake to combine the honey and spices.
When you feel like the drink is very well mixed. Add ice and shake again.

For the rim of the glass, instead of salt, I like to use sugar mixed with cinnamon and cayenne. Sounds a little different but it really adds a festive and delicious touch to each drink.
So rim the glass, then pour over the drink. Finish with ginger beer, rosemary, and pomegranate seeds.
It takes only minutes to make but always turns out to look so impressive. This drink is extra pretty with its festive red color. I’m planning to make the pitcher version next week for upcoming Christmas parties. My family has been sent photos are already looking forward to this one.
Kicking off the holiday week in the best way possible, with a festive holiday cocktail in hand!

Looking for other Christmas drinks? Here are my favorites:
Lastly, if you make this Whoville’s Spiced Up Christmas Margarita (with mocktail), be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Whoville’s Spiced Up Christmas Margarita (with mocktail)
Servings: 1 drink
Calories Per Serving: 380 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup pomegranate juice
- 1/4 cup tangerine or orange juice
- 2 ounces tequila
- 1/2 ounce orange liquor
- 1-2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 pinch cayenne
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- ginger beer, for topping (optional)
CINNI SUGAR RIM
- 1 tablespoon coarse sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
Instructions
- 1. On a small plate, mix the coarse sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne. Rim your glass with an orange, clementine, or tangerine. Then dip the glass into the sugar mix.2. Fill the glass with ice.3. Combine the pomegranate juice, orange juice, tequila, orange liquor, honey (if using), the vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, and rosemary in a cocktail shaker. Shake well to combine, then fill with ice and shake 1 minute. Pour into your prepared glass. Top with ginger beer and garnish with pomegranate seeds, cinnamon sticks, and rosemary. 4. To Make a Mocktail: omit the tequila and orange liquor. Use 2 additional tablespoons of pomegranate juice and 1 tablespoon of orange juice.
Whoville’s Spiced Up Christmas Margarita Punch (with mocktail punch)
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 380 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups pomegranate juice
- 2 cups tangerine or orange juice
- 2 cups tequila
- 1 cup orange liquor
- 1/2 -1 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- cayenne to taste
- 6-8 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 ginger beers for topping (optional)
Cinni Sugar Rim
- 1/4 cup coarse sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- cayenne to taste
Instructions
- 1. In a punch bowl, combine the pomegranate juice, orange juice, tequila, orange liquor, honey (if using), vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne. Use a whisk to stir and incorporate the honey and spices. Add the rosemary. Chill until ready to serve. 2. On a small plate, mix the coarse sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne. Rim your glass with an orange then dip the glass into the sugar mix.3. Just before serving, stir well to mix everything. Add ice to your punch bowl. Pour over the ginger beer. Rim your glasses, then add ice. Pour over the punch. Serve and enjoy!4. To Make a Mocktail Punch: omit the tequila and orange liquor. Use 1 additional cup of pomegranate juice and 1/2 cup of orange juice.
Notes
Calories for the mocktail version are less.

This post was originally published on December 17, 2022
















I made the batch version last night for a friends gathering. We really enjoyed the flavor of this margarita! We omitted the ginger beer (not a fan) and only used the 1/2 cup of honey. I wonder if there’s a way to get the spice flavors without dried spices in the margarita itself? We loved the rim flavors too!
Hey Melissa,
Happy Monday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and your notes, so glad it was a winner! You could try a spicy jalapeño tequila!
Made it as a mocktail for my family and everyone was surprised at how much they loved it! I omitted the cayenne (not a fan of spicy drinks), used only 1/2 cup of honey, and used honey to line the rim of our cups before adding the sugar. Thank you so much for all the awesome recipes 💗
Hey Aija,
Yay! So glad this recipe was enjoyed by your family, thanks for making it!
Merry Christmas!🎄🎁
Quite a cocktail. A lot going on, many flavors, be careful with the sweetness. Very festive.
Hey Matt,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it turned out nicely for you!
Have a great holiday!🎄🎁
Can the punch be made the night prior and maintain flavor? Minus Ginger beer. of course. pros vs cons?
Hi Tina,
You bet, as long as you leave out the ginger beer, that is perfectly okay to do! Cheers!
Happy day after Christmas day. Hope you had a very enjoyable season!
My daughter and I put this together Christmas day and it was so enjoyable. Thank you so much for sharing. You mentioned you and your family had other drinks you enjoyed the week of Christmas. Could you please share the names of those?
I’d like to try them as well. Thank you so much. Sincerely, Becky
Thanks so much, Becky! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it!
Yes, here are some other favorites:
https://fett-weg.today/frosted-spicy-ginger-moscow-mule/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://fett-weg.today/spicy-pomegranate-ginger-paloma/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://fett-weg.today/vanilla-espresso-martini/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> Happy Holidays! xx