Passion Fruit Margarita

A passion fruit margarita is a tropical escape in a cocktail glass. Essentially, a classic margarita recipe with exotic passion fruit juice, it’s lime-sour, passion-sweet, tequila-punchy, cool and ultra drinkable. Who’s coming?

The passion fruit version of a margarita is all sunshine, samba and summer! But if that’s not your season right now, this blood orange margarita will scratch that cocktail itch whatever the weather. Or for a festive take, try pomegranate margarita punch. 

I am fascinated by passion fruit. They are just so strange and wonderful, aren’t they?? I mean, outside of South America where they are large and firm and come in shiny apple green, tangerine orange or glossy plum purple, passion fruit tend to be an unremarkable fruit- shrivelled and liver brown on the outside.

It’s almost unimaginable that the wrinkly casing protects a golden, yolk-like treasure inside. 

Once cut open though, the treasure is blinding sunshine, a view to a more tropical land. The bright flesh is webbed to the interior walls, rich and pulpy studded with dark, seedy eyes that crunch between your teeth. 

And the flavour! Refreshing as a coastal breeze. It can be likened to pineapple due to its nectar-sweetness and a sometimes sour sting. Or citrus even. Making it an obvious switch up to a traditional, lime-dominated margarita recipe…

Ingredients

The secret to any classy cocktail is not to compromise on juice. It should always be freshly extracted, not from a carton and never from concentrate. Save that for punch, if you must! To make two passion fruit margaritas, you’ll need the juice (discard the pulp and seeds after straining) of only 2 or 3 small fruits. 

Next trademark tequila. Choose a clear, young tequila, like tequila blanco. This offers a clean, pure flavour that won’t interfere with the fresh juices or darken the vibrant sunshine hue. Tequila has a robust flavour which will find its way through the sour fruits. 

Lime juice, again, freshly squeezed, please! The bottled variety has an obviously synthetic tang. Lime is known for its tart and refreshing notes and is what makes margaritas so appealing.

If it’s all sounding a little too sour, never fear. That’s what the final ingredient is for: orange liqueur. There are lots of varieties available, but I favour triple sec. It tends to be the most affordable as supermarkets have their own brands. Use this syrupy liquid to dial up the sweetness to your taste.

Margarita variations

The passion fruit margarita cocktail recipe is super customisable. Here’s how it can be served three ways:

1. Passion fruit margarita with mezcal. Personally, I’m not a mezcal lover. I prefer the crisp nature of a clear tequila in a cocktail, but if you’re a fan of smokier notes, swap the measure of tequila for mezcal. 
2. Spicy passion fruit margarita. I will always order a spicy marg if there’s one on the menu! I can’t resist the chili salt laced with lime that tajín brings to the cocktail. However, rather than the assaulting traditional spice mix, for this margarita, I suggest using a chilli-infused sugar syrup in place of the triple sec. It’s subtlety will be more complimentary of the passion fruit.
3. ‘Popstar’ passion fruit margarita. I’m not always in the mood for a short cocktail so I’ll sometimes just top mine up with sparkling wine. And it means you don’t have to get up to make more so often! Win!

Serving suggestions

I’m a salty one! For me a classic margarita must come with a salted rim. And not from your dining table shaker, btw. Salt should be flaked and from the sea (Kosher salt is fine though). Larger flakes will dissolve more slowly and look stunningly elegant too.

That said, a passion fruit margarita is not a classic lime. I recommend doing a half salt rim. That way you can decide for yourself which side to sip from. 

Three passion fruit will yield between 50-60mls of juice, making this a (slightly) longer drink than your average marg. Therefore, it is perfectly acceptable to serve this exotic margarita on the rocks. That said, I would limit the rocks to just one or two to avoid over diluting the mix.

More drink recipes to try

• Mango Mojito
• Rhubarb Moscow Mule
• Cherry Long Island Ice Tea
• Lemon Prosecco Float “Sgroppino”