Smoky Harvest Apple Cider Margarita.
Smoky Harvest Apple Cider Margarita, my favorite quick and easy, but oh so warming fall margarita. Smoky mezcal (or tequila) mixed with a splash of orange liquor, spiced apple cider, a touch of citrusy lime, and sweet maple. This autumn harvest margarita is a cozy take on the classic, and the perfect warming fall cocktail to sip on with friends and family. Finish this smoky margarita off with fresh rosemary, apple slices, and a smoking cinnamon stick for that extra special touch.
Because every Saturday is made better with a cocktail in hand, right?
Yes, yes, correct! Happy to be back for yet another HBH Cocktail Saturday recipe! I LOVE these posts so much. And I LOVE this margarita. It basically has all the things I love about fall, with the addition of tequila and a smoky cinnamon stick. It’s easy to make and so very delicious. Not too sweet, perfectly spiced, and just a touch bit smoky.
So very fall. So very me.
It’s a tried and true favorite and has been my go-to fall margarita for years. This was one of the first “real” drinks that I made for my family a few Octobers back. It was then that I began to have a lot of fun mixing drinks and experimenting with them. Crazy that I’ve now shared so many new cocktails recipes over the last few fall and early winter Saturdays leading up to Christmas.
My next new “test” is a whiskey sour…with an egg white. What are your thoughts…an egg white cocktail? Into them…or not so much?? If you have tips, let me know!
The very quick details…
This margarita is easy.
First, you should rim your glass with salted cinnamon sugar. It might not seem necessary, but it’s salty, sweet, and the perfect rim for this fall margarita. Plus, it’s pretty, and that really counts for something to me.
Next, find your favorite bottle of smoky mezcal. Or if you can’t stand mezcal (some love it, some hate it), use your favorite silver tequila. But the mezcal is what gives this margarita its smokiness.
Now, add a splash of orange liquor, a good amount of spiced cider, a little citrusy lime, and sweeten it up with maple. Shake and strain into glasses.
SIMPLE. But SO GOOD.
If you want to make this margarita “extra” special. Add the garnishes…
Meaning, apple slices, a sprig of rosemary, and most importantly, a smoking cinnamon stick. It’s fun, it adds smokiness, smells incredible, and you really just need to do it.
And that’s it. Serve this up tonight, tomorrow, or maybe over Halloween. Or, if you’re already planning out your Thanksgiving menu, this makes for a pretty great holiday margarita too!
Looking for something a little spookier? Try last Saturday’s Sleepy Hollow Cocktail!
If you make these smoky harvest apple cider margarita, 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!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Smoky Harvest Apple Cider Margarita.
By halfbakedharvest
This autumn harvest margarita is a cozy take on the classic, and the perfect warming fall cocktail to sip on with friends or family.
Ingredients
- cinnamon sugar and flaky sea salt, for the rim
- 2 ounces mezcal or silver tequila
- 1/2 ounce orange liquor
- 4 ounces (1/2 cup) apple cider
- juice from 1/2 a lime
- 1-2 teaspoons maple syrup use more or less to your taste
- apple slices and cinnamon sticks, for serving
Instructions
-
1. If desired, rim your glass in salted cinnamon sugar. Mix equal parts cinnamon sugar and sea salt. Run a lime wedge around the rim of the glass and coat in sugar.
2. Combine the mezcal or tequila, orange liquor, apple cider, lime juice, and maple in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake to combine. Strain into the glass. Garnish with apple slices, rosemary, and cinnamon sticks. If desired light the cinnamon on fire for a smoky effect.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Smoky Harvest Apple Cider Margarita Pitcher
This autumn harvest margarita is a cozy take on the classic, and the perfect warming fall cocktail to sip on with friends and family.
Ingredients
- cinnamon sugar and flaky sea salt, for the rim
- 12 ounces mezcal or silver tequila (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 3-4 ounces orange liquor (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup maple syrup use more or less to your taste
- apple slices and cinnamon, sticks for serving
Instructions
-
1. In a large pitcher, combine mezcal or tequila, orange liquor, apple cider, lime juice, and maple. Chill until ready to serve.
2. When ready to serve, if desired, rim glasses in salted cinnamon sugar, fill with ice. Pour the margarita into glasses. Garnish with apple slices, rosemary, and cinnamon sticks. If desired light the cinnamon on fire for a smoky effect.
Our Favorite Recipes
Slow Cooker Herbed Chicken and Rice Pilaf.
Yes please to holiday drink Saturday!
Haha yes! Thanks Rhian!
CONGRATULATION ON YOUR NEW BOOK. I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!
Thank you so much Carlos!!
Hi,
I would have thought that when you make a big batch of the drink, all of the ingredients would be multiplied by the same factor. That is not the case here. Is that intentional?
Thanks
Hey Bob! Thank you for pointing that out. The amount of tequila was a typo. Recipe now fixed. Thanks again and let me know if you have any questions. Hope you love these!
Major noms!! These look so great 🙂
Rebecca
xx
http://www.peppermintdolly.com
Thank you Rebecca!
So fun and festive, girl! This is one drink I could totally fall in love with!
Awesome! Hope you love them Tori, thank you!
oh goodness! You’re really going for full immersion with the fall feel! This is awesome!! It’s Friday and I could use a dang drink!
https://www.searedandshameless.com
Haha perfect! I hope you love this, thank you Jessica!
The margaritas look great! Yes to Holiday Drink Saturday! I need some ideas for some holiday shenanigans 🙂 …..and maybe, just maybe, some finger food recipes? I love translating your recipes into bite size foods.
Finger foods for sure!! 🙂
Thank you!!
YES! Celebrating cooler weather here in Alabama and these seem perfectttt.
They are! I hope you love them Marilyn! Thanks!
As if Apple ciders weren’t amazing enough, you turned apple cider into a margarita! Definitely a great way to celebrate fall!
Thanks so much Andrea!
Oh. My. Gosh. YES, PLEASE. These look amazing, and I love the addition of the smoking cinnamon stick to the photos – that is a touch of genius right there! I am definitely whip these up for a group of friends soon.
Congratulations on the nearing of the finish line for the cookbook manuscript! I know there is a lot of cooking and photographing to come, but hopefully that is the most fun part, and – as you say – it gets your poor eyes away from the computer screen. I am SO EXCITED for your cookbook; looking forward to buying copies for everyone I know! I just know it is going to be stunning. 😀
Thank you so much Kate! I am so excited about the book too, and happy you are! (:
Ummmmmm………YES!!!! to the holiday drink Saturday, DUH!!! 🙂
Thank you so much Penny!!
Really cute!! Love the pictures
Thank you Faith!
Friday has never looked so good with these gorgeous margaritas! I need one (ok, make it 2)!
Haha yes 2! lol! Thank you Laura, I hope you love them!
Hey! Looks delicious.
Are you not on Snap Chat anymore? Miss you there!
HI! I am, just been a little busy lately. Be back soon! THANK YOU! 🙂
Yum! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Sara!
I totally agree with Kate. You are Genius !
Haha thank you!
Made the today for the Buffs game. Very yummy!
Perfect! Thank you Beth!
What a beautiful drink! It looks so warm and comforting and perfect for this season! And yes I can see that during holidays..I love that smoking cinnamon…You sure have the knack for presentation every single time, Tieghan! 😉 I love recipes like this when I go through the list of ingredients and know that I have most of it, if not all then I can make it easily!
So happy you love this one Sheila, thank you so much!
Trying this for our spritzer for our October secret supper society dinner.
Cheers!
Hope you love it!! Thanks!
I made this last night and I loved it!! I normally don’t make the extra effort to make drinks in the shaker but this one was so worth it. Thank you for sharing!
Ah yay!! So happy it was good!!
Thank you!!
Beautiful!
Where did you find those glasses?
Thank you so much! The glasses are from Crate and Barrel. Here is the link: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/tour-glasses/f47403
We are big fans of your blog and have purchased your latest cookbook … it is awesome. We have a home decor and furniture business @ vavabode.com (Colorado Springs) and would love to highlight your cocktail on our “Friday at Five” post for our Blog and FB. Let us know if it’s a go. Meanwhile, keep doing what your doing … we are inspired by you each and every day. Nadine + Amy
Thank you so much, Nadine! Means so much! 🙂
That is fine with me and thanks again!
Sounds deliciou – can’t wait to try its! And, yes to December Cocktail Saturdays!
Thank you!
Apple cider margarita is awesome, made a pitcher and shared it with friends
Great! I am so glad you liked it!
Is the Apple cider alcoholic?
I use non-alcoholic cider. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! ?
I bartend at a tequila bar that has a few mezcal cocktails on the menu. I found that if i do 3/4 oz mezcal and 3/4 oz regular tequila the drink is less likely to get sent back. It takes the smokiness down a notch but its still there. Ill have to give this one a try at work tomorrow!
Ooo thank you for this tip! I hope you love these margaritas Shauna!
916 calories for ONE drink??
Hi Julie! So sorry about that. That is for the larger batch. I hope you try this!
Looks good.
I may try this using Traeger brand SMOKED SIMPLE SYRUP instead of maple syrup..that way it has a slight smoky taste. I only have plain tequlia anyway. Taste and if needs maple added a few drops of Maple ext,
thanks. Might get some snow today so perfect drink for evening.
Thank you Leslie! I hope you love this! xTieghan
Did you notice the “heart” in your smoking cinnamon stick?
I did not! That is so cute, thank you for pointing it out! xTieghan
Made these earlier tonight. Family all agreed, Delicious!!!
Thank you Katie! xTieghan
Love mezcal and love your site! Ohmygoodness! P.S. since your kicking around a whiskey sour w/egg white you may check out Jeffrey Morgenthalers whiskey sour recipe for inspo. It’s fantastic and he uses egg white. I’m sure you could put a delicious spin on it. And, yes, egg white in cocktails is ?
Thank you so much Kristin! I am so glad you like this! xTieghan
This drink is amazing! I enjoyed it so much!
Thank you so much Renee! xTieghan
Do you not do the links to save to recipe book anymore?
Hey Megan! The recipe box is still there! We had a tech issue the other day, but the recipe box is back. I am sorry sorry for any trouble! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan ??
I made this a few days ago and have been craving it since! So so good and the perfect drink to give you all the fall feels!!
Yes! Thank you Kayla! xTieghan
I LOVE your holliday post and your cocktail wow i want to try every one off them… you are like the Nigella Lawson of the USA… you really set a feeling when you do a post on your blog… you are so inspiring… it is so long time since i have sat down and read a blog post from start to end and really enjoyed it… i have followed you in years… but this year you really got me inspired… especially all the harry potter post so amazing!! Lots off love from Denmark Copenhagen Lisa ×××××
Hi Lisa! I am so glad you love my holiday posts! Thank you so much! xTieghan
I googled apple cider margarita and this came up! Perfect timing! I’ve been making all of your fall drinks and this one was delicious just like the rest! I did a shot of silver tequila and a shot of mezcal; perfect smokiness! Thank you!
I am so glad you loved this cocktail, Melanie! Thank you! xTieghan
Did you use Cointreau or Orange Curaçao?
HI! I like to use Cointreau. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan ??
I just made these for our pumpkin carving night. We usually make margaritas and when I saw this recipe I had to try it. They are delicious ! Perfect fall drink! Will be making many more.
YES! I am so glad you all loved this Beth! Thank you so much! xTieghan
These are delicious and the presentation is just gorgeous!! Can’t wait to make them again for more friends, so perfect for fall.
Thank you so much Grace! I am so glad you are loving these margaritas! xTieghan
I coated the rim of the glass with a little bit of maple syrup instead of lime juice, then dipped in the cinnamon sugar and salt mixture. Awesome addition!
Thank you Sarah! xTieghan
I’m drinking one of these right now. It’s so soft but also so tasty! Perfect for a pre-winter night like the one we’re having here in Lisbon. I’m only sorry I chose glasses that are a little too big. No chance of holding a cinnamon stick… 😀
Thank you once again for another WONDERFUL recipe!
Haha that is so amazing to hear! Thank you for trying this Sofia! Tieghan
In love with this recipe and thinking about making a pitcher for Thanksgiving. I have just 2 non- drinkers. Any tips on preserving the essence while making a glass or two non-alcoholic?
HI Veronique! I would just make a second smaller pitcher that does not include the alcohol. This way everyone can have some. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
These sounded amazing but did not taste so. Made these earlier for our Thanksgiving brunch. No one, not one person, finished theirs. It’s a cute ideal, but the taste never blended quite right.
Hi Sara! Really sorry this did not turn out well for you all. Are there any questions I could help you with? xTieghan
This is the first comment I have left, although, by far, not the first recipe I have made. And, I’m sorry for that because I know how much work this is. I made this cocktail with Mescal from Escondido with Mexican canela. It was SPECTACULAR. I promise to write more reviews.?
Hi Cassie! No worries! Just glad to hear that this turned out well for you! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
I’ve actually made this 3 times now…first time I used all mezcal and honestly for most people it was quite difficult to drink…My BF loooooves everything bitter and smoky so for him it was perfect like that but for me and most palates I’ve determined 1/3 mezcal and 2/3 silver tequila was the sweet spot. I also used the spiced apple cider from Trader Joes which is super yummy on its own so if there’s a store around you – get it!
OOOOH one thing Tieghan…I love that you can adjust the servings on your recipes…BUT it would also be super awesome if when you went to print the recipe those new proportions would also print! IDK if thats an easy coding thing or not but would be super helpful…For now I print the recipe and then change the servings and take a pic with my phone then write it in….
Hmmm I did not know that was happening! I will send that to my tech team now, thank you for letting me know! So glad you loved this Beata! xTieghan
Can you make this hot or is there a hot version of something similar?
Hey Rebecca,
I haven’t tried making this hot, but you could definitely give it a go! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Have been searching for a good drink with cider. Dang girl this is DE-lush! Couldn’t get my cinnamon to smoke but have found my new favorite cider margarita. Cheers!!
Thank you so much Chris! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Looking forward to making this! We are big fans of whiskey sours in our house. We don’t make them with the egg white, because we drink them so often we’d end up with a bunch of leftover egg yolks! However, I love a good egg white infused cocktail – they are so creamy! One of the first cocktails of that type I tried was a Ramos Gin Fizz. Look it up, maybe you can do a riff on it this Christmas!
Hi Melissa! I hope you love this recipe when you get a chance to try it! I completely understand having so many egg yolks left over, but the egg white does make it so yummy! xTieghan
Hi! What would you substitute for a non alcoholic version? Sparkling water, anything else to give it a kick? Looks amazing!
Hey Meghan,
I would do sparkling water! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
My husband is the cocktail maker of our family. We made this for our friends at Halloween and it was HIT! TY for your great recipes. I have told everyone that this thanksgiving is going to be a Tieghan Thansgiving as I am hoping to try out quite a few of your recipes.
Hi Rani! I am so glad you all loved this cocktail! Also, so amazing! I hope you have a great Thanksgiving! xTieghan
Simply delicious and easy to make. Also, goes down too easily!
Love that! Thank you Mikaelyn! xTieghan
What brand tequila do you use?
Hey Nancy,
I like Dos Amigos! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
My new favorite cocktail. I’ve had it four or five times since you’ve posted!
Wow yes!! I am so happy you loved this one, Abbie! Thank you! xTieghan
Delish! Love the smokey flavor from the Mezcal. The better quality Mezcal, the more smokey flavor. Splurge and go upper shelf with the Alcohol for this one.
Thank you so much Lacy! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Pretty awful…did a test run for thanksgiving and came out bad….
Hi May! I am sorry you did not enjoy this. Is there anything I can help with? xTieghan
Hi there! I’m searching for a cozy cocktail for December and this is so intriguing but I can’t have maple syrup, What would you suggest as a replacement? Are there other cocktails that have that warm wintery flavor but without maple or honey that you would recommend? Thanks!
Hey Amy,
I would give one of these recipes a try:
https://dev.halfbakedharvest.com/pomegranate-champagne-mule/
https://dev.halfbakedharvest.com/holly-jolly-christmas-citrus-cocktail/
https://dev.halfbakedharvest.com/gingerbread-white-russian/
I hope you love the recipes, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
So good and easy to make!
Hey Grace,
Thanks so much for trying out the recipe, I am thrilled it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
How do we make the warm version?
Do I not add the cinnamon salted sugar if it’s the warm version?
Hey Diana,
I have never tried this as a warm drink:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Delicious… we used sparkling apple cider because that’s all I could find at Whole Foods, but it still worked out so well (just stirred rather than shake). Not too sweet, not too maple-y, it was perfect!!!
Hey Abbey,
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great week:) xTieghan