Strawberry Thyme Margaritas

Give your favorite margarita recipe a twist with these strawberry cocktails. A sprig of thyme gives an earthy twist to these summertime drinks!

In a hurry? Click here to jump straight to the recipe!

I had all of these elaborate ideas for Tequila Week. (Can you believe it’s over already? I can’t. LONG LIVE TEQUILA!)

I had most of the Tequila Week recipes photographed before the week began, but on Tuesday I set out to take the last few sets of pictures. One was yesterday’s Blackberry and Tequila Glazed Chicken Sandwiches, and one was a yet-to-be-determined delectable final chapter – a home run recipe to close out Tequila Week in style. I had lots of lofty, creative ideas. But of course, in the process of cooking up the sandwiches, I burned the living crap out of my left hand. Instead of whipping up some super-duper tequila-y thing for Friday’s post, I sat with my hand in a bucket of ice water for six hours, ended up in the Emergency Room, and passed out around 2:30am thanks to some exceptionally strong painkillers. Hashtag OUCH.

I putzed around for a day, not really able to move my poor burn-victimized hand, still thinking about what we could make to close out Tequila Week. I say “we” because at this point, there was no way I was getting anything done myself. Thankfully, Kyle is super awesome and offered to be my hands whenever I needed them. Even if what I needed hands for was cooking (which he isn’t a huge fan of). So I sat, and I “womp womp”ed over my painful, potentially disfigured hand (although my hands are weird anyway, so whatever. I have stupid short stubby thumbs) and I thought about tequila. TEQUILA! There were so many possibilities. So many things I could make! But all of them took time. And were sorta complicated. So yesterday morning, I was all, “I could just make margaritas. But I already DID that this week. Lameness.” And then I started thinking of other things.

But then it was nighttime. (Still yesterday). And margaritas were starting to sound better and better. Better because they were quick and easy, and better because I’d refused to take painkillers anymore (I hate drugs) and my hand hurt and I needed a DRANK. So here was my thought process:

“I should make margaritas!”

“No. Can’t. Did that.”

“But they’re so easy!”

“Easy things are lame.”

“But they taste so good!”

“So does beer. After a CREATIVE tequila recipe.”

“But EVERYBODY loves booze! And Margaritas have booze!”

…

…

…

“Yes.”

So I made margaritas. Kyle helped. He even carried everything into my office for me and set up the shot with the cups and stuff. Awwwwww. (THANKS KYLE). And then we drank them. And you know what? They rocked. And life was good. Except for my hand. But even that will get better with thyme. (HAH! GET IT? THYME!) Anywho, here are some more margs. I’ve realized that you can never have too many (except sometimes, you can). Happy Tequila Week, folks!

Missed a day of Tequila Week? Catch up here: 

Monday – Tequila Battered Onion Rings with Honey Lime Yogurt Sauce

Tuesday – Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos

Wednesday – Raspberry Margaritas

Thursday – Blackberry & Tequila Glazed Chicken Sandwiches

Friday – Strawberry Thyme Margaritas

Strawberry Thyme Margaritas

• Author: Jessie
• Yield: 2 drinks, easily multiplied 1x
• Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the Simple Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 3–4 sprigs thyme

For the Margaritas:

• 2 ounces simple syrup (recipe above)
• 2 ounces lime juice
• 4 ounces tequila
• sugar or salt, to rim glasses
• strawberries, for garnish
• sprigs of thyme, for garnish

 

---

Instructions

For the Simple Syrup:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk while it heats over medium heat, until all sugar is dissolved. Continue to simmer for 7-9 minutes, until sugar has dissolved, strawberries have broken down a bit, and liquid has turned a deep, syrupy pink. Remove from heat and let cool for 15-20 minutes.
2. When syrup has cooled, strain it into a medium sized bowl to remove all fruit chunks and thyme leaves. The recipe below is for 2 margaritas at a time, but you’ll have enough simple syrup to make around 6. Save any extra syrup in the fridge for up to a week!

For the Margaritas:

1. Run a citrus (lime, orange, or lemon) wedge around the rim of each glass and dip the glass edges into sugar or salt (I used sugar). If you don’t have any citrus, you can run water around the glass with a finger – it works just as well. Fill glasses with ice and set aside.
2. In a shaker, combine simple syrup, lime juice, and tequila. Shake over ice until chilled, then pour over ice into prepared glasses.
3. Slice some strawberries in half until just below the stems, then slip them over the edge of each glass to garnish. Also add a sprig of thyme to each glass for garnish. Serve immediately.

 

---

Notes

Additions and substitutions. Use honey in place of sugar for the strawberry syrup if you like. Use raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries in place of the strawberries if you prefer. Use vodka or gin instead of whiskey. Use frozen strawberries instead of fresh if you like (you will need to extend the syrup cook time by a few minutes). Omit the thyme or use rosemary in its place. For a stronger thyme flavor, add a sprig of thyme to the strawberry syrup while it cooks. Use club soda, soda water, or prosecco in place of the tonic water if you like, or omit it completely.

What kind of tequila should I use? We like using Cazadores Reposado for our tequila cocktails. Use whatever liquor you typically like to drink! If you’re not a tequila person, you can use whiskey, vodka or gin instead of tequila.

Make-ahead tips. Make the strawberry syrup a day or two in advance if you like. Strain out the berry pulp, let syrup cool completely, and store in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to use. If you’re using fresh lemon juice, juice the lemons in the morning on the day you plan to make cocktails (any earlier and the flavor can start to change) and store in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to use. 

To make this strawberry cocktail for a crowd, follow a 1:1:2 ratio (1 part strawberry syrup to 1 part lime juice, to 2 parts tequila) and scale up as needed.  

If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, use a mason jar with a tight-fitting lid instead.

Store extra strawberry syrup in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to six months. 

Keywords: cocktails, spirits