This Galaxy Margarita recipe is such a fun and delicious spin on the classic margarita! The purple color-changing tequila changes to a pink color when it's mixed with lime juice, and the result is such a pretty layered drink. Perfect for a starry nighttime sip!
Margaritas are popular year-round, but especially for Cinco de Mayo and summertime! This is also a fun drink to have for a bachelorette or girls night.
Looking for more butterfly pea magic? Try out the pretty Fade to Pink gin cocktail, or the super easy Empress Gin & Tonic.
Want to sip on some other margaritas? The pink Prickly Pear Margarita is always a hit, or the raspberry Chambord Margarita is an easy and tasty tequila cocktail!
Butterfly Pea-Infused Tequila
The secret to the pretty color of this drink is the butterfly pea flower! That's right, no artificial food coloring needed.
This flower is so magical because its dark purple color changes to a bright pink when it's mixed with something acidic.
(Kinda like lime juice!)
I've included the instructions on how to infuse the tequila with butterfly pea flowers, but you can also read more in detail on how to make the infusion here: Color Changing Butterfly Pea Tequila recipe.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need to have on hand!
To make the tequila infusion, you'll need a blanco tequila, plus some dried butterfly pea flowers. Or, grab a bottle of pre-infused tequila if you can find it, like this Butterfly Cannon tequila.
For the garnish, grab a slice of lime, some salt (preferably Himalayan pink salt), and some clear edible glitter if you want to give it some extra sparkle.
You'll also need simple syrup, Cointreau orange liqueur (or triple sec liqueur), and some lime juice. (Freshly squeezed lime juice if possible!)
Substitutions
Here are some ways you can substitute the ingredients in this cocktail:
- Butterfly pea tequila - if you can't make this infusion or find it in the store, you can usually find Empress 1908 gin pretty easily. Try using that instead, as it uses the same coloring flowers. The drink will be more like a Gin Daisy.
- Cointreau - you can sub in a Triple Sec, Orange Curaçao liqueur, or another citrus liqueur like limoncello.
- Lime - you can use lemon instead.
- Simple syrup - instead of simple syrup, you can use maple syrup or agave nectar.
Variations
Need to change up this recipe? Here are some ways to do it.
- Keto Friendly - it's easy to make this into a keto-friendly drink. Just switch out the simple syrup for a syrup made with a sugar free sweetener, and use that in place of both the syrup and the Cointreau in the recipe. You can use store bought sugar free syrup, or you can find more info on how to make your own in my How to Make Simple Syrup post.
- Virgin - if you're avoiding alcohol, you can use a non-alcoholic tequila, like Lyre's Agave Bianco, in place of the hard stuff. You can infuse it with the butterfly pea flower too! It might just take longer to get to the color you want. Also, sub out the Cointreau for more syrup.
- Bergamot - try using Italicus liqueur instead of the Cointreau for a different citrusy note.
Equipment
For the butterfly pea-infused tequila, you'll need a sealable jar, a strainer and a funnel, and a clean glass bottle to store it in. (Check out the full infusion recipe with pictures: Color Changing Butterfly Pea Tequila.)
For the cocktail itself, you'll need a small dish for the salt, along with a knife and cutting board for the lime and lime garnish.
You'll also need a jigger, cocktail shaker and strainer, and a Lewis bag and mallet (or another ice crushing mechanism).
Finally, you'll need a cocktail serving glass. I used these cute hobnail glasses.
Check out the products from A Bar Above! You can get 10% off using my discount code, LKDrinks. Their bar tools are really top notch, and easy to clean too!
Instructions
For the butterfly pea tequila, check out the instructions in the recipe below, or in this post: Color Changing Butterfly Pea Tequila.
Before you start making the drink, you can crush your ice so it's ready to go. I used a Lewis bag and mallet (because it's pretty fun to smash some ice!)
Wet the rim of your cocktail glass and dip it in the salt so it sticks to the glass. I only salted half of the rim here.
Add the lime juice, Cointreau and syrup to your cocktail shaker. Fill it with ice.
Seal the shaker and shake everything up, about 15-20 shakes.
Fill your cocktail glass with crushed ice, or regular ice if you don't have crushed ice.
Strain the drink into the glass.
Then, carefully pour the butterfly pea tequila on the top of the drink. It should float easily, so don't worry about it too much.
Add a little edible glitter if you want an extra pop.
If you want to make more of a color gradient, gently stir the top half of the drink so it starts to mix a little with the bottom.
Add your lime slice to the rim of the glass, and serve!
Hint: try to chill all of your ingredients before you make the drink so it stays colder longer.
Top tip - Straw
I recommend serving this drink with a straw, for a couple of reasons. Since you're serving it with layers, the top half will be super boozy unless they stir it up themselves.
The other reason to serve this drink with a straw is because the edible glitter tends to sink to the bottom. Your guests can use the straw to stir it up again. (Also, it looks so cool when you stir it!)
📖 Recipe
Galaxy Margarita
Equipment
- Cocktail serving glass
- Ice mallet and Lewis bag or other ice crusher (optional) (if you want to use crushed ice)
- Knife and cutting board (if using fresh lime)
- Citrus juicer (if using fresh lime)
- Bar spoon (for gently stirring in the tequila)
- Mason jar or resealable glass container (for butterfly pea tequila)
- Strainer (for butterfly pea tequila)
- Funnel (for butterfly pea tequila)
- Clean resealable glass storage bottle (for butterfly pea tequila)
Ingredients
Butterfly Pea Tequila
- 8 ounces tequila blanco
- ¼ cup dried butterfly pea flowers
Garnish (optional)
- 1 slice lime
- fine grain salt (use Himalayan pink salt for a little more color)
- ¼ teaspoon edible glitter
Cocktail
- 1 ounce lime juice
- ½ ounce simple syrup (or agave nectar)
- ½ ounce Cointreau (or triple sec)
- 1½ ounces butterfly pea-infused tequila (linked to a more detailed recipe)
Instructions
Butterfly Pea Tequila
- Mix the tequila and butterfly pea flowers in a sealed jar and let them sit for about 20 minutes, or until it gets to the color you like. Shake occassionally.
- Strain out the butterfly pea flowers and bottle the tequila in a resealable glass container.
Cocktail
- Use water or a cut lime to wet half of the rim of your cocktail glass.
- Add the salt to a small dish and dip the wet side of the rim of the glass into the salt so it sticks.
- Cut a small slit in the side of your lime slice so it will fit on the glass rim later.
- If you want to use crushed ice, use the lewis bag and mallet to crush the ice and set it aside, still in the bag.
- Add the lime juice, simple syrup and Cointreau to a cocktail shaker.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously, about 15-20 shakes.
- Fill your cocktail glass with the crushed ice (or regular if you don't have crushed).
- Strain the drink into the glass.
- Pour the tequila on top of the drink to create a dark purple layer on top.
- Optionally add some edible glitter to the drink.
- Gently stir the drink on the top half so that the drink becomes more of a gradient of pink to purple. (If you want, you can stir the whole thing together at this point, and it will all become a dark pink color.)
- Add the lime slice to the rim of the glass, and serve.
Kimberly says
This is one of my favorite margaritas just based on how cool and pretty it is! Let me know if you try this one out or have any questions!