Christmas in Cozumel

This cocktail was inspired by my time in Cozumel for Christmas a number of years back.

I really wanted to put a Christmas drink on the menu of Walton Arts Center’s Winter Nights event that we did this past year (2022). I dug in to try to find inspiration and could really only think back to a Christmas that i spent on a cruise drinking Margaritas on the top deck.

So the only logical conclusion was to make a slight nod to that. I wanted it to resemble the blue waters of the ocean out that way. As anyone that creates or drinks cocktails knows, blue curaçao is the way to accomplish that. So I went citrus heavy with a tequila backbone, but needed something to make it pop.

My favorite syrup to use in most cocktails is orgeat, which is an almond syrup. In the interest of avoiding a nut allergy issue, I used almond FLAVOR in a simple syrup to accomplish something similar. The resulting richness that this gave the cocktail elevated it from a riff on a margarita to a delicious escape from the cold wintery nights of Northwest Arkansas.

Christmas in Cozumel

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz blanco tequila

• .5 oz blue curaçao

• 1 oz grapefruit Juice

• .5 oz lime juice

• .75 oz orgeat or imitation almond syrup

For almond simple syrup

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 teaspoon imitation almond flavor

Making the Syrup

1. Combine all syrup ingredients in a sauce pan

2. Heat until sugar has completely dissolved

3. Allow to cool completely

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker tin

2. Fill tin with ice. Close the tin and shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds.

3. Strain over a prepared glass with fresh ice

4. Garnish with an orange wheel and a straw.

5. Enjoy!