Skinny Blood Orange-Basil Margarita

So, I haven’t really talked about the fact that I’m getting married this year.

Just to state the obvious: I love my roommate more than life itself and can’t wait to lock that wonderland body down come October 7. It’s gonna be the best, and the day itself will fall into place.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I feel comfortable saying…

WEDDING PLANNING IS NOT MY JAM.

Knowing this would be the case, I hired an excellent wedding planner as any responsible hot mess is wont to do. Her name is Beth, and I love her. (Hi, Beth!) Beth is very helpful, but there is still a boatload of decisions that I have to make personally. And given that I’m one of the most indecisive humans on the planet, I find myself mildly overwhelmed by all the choices. (Dear GOD, so many choices!!!!) Especially since I entered this process with zero vision for my wedding outside of: “Ceremony cocktails, infinity white lights and a late night In-N-Out truck.” Luckily, the latter has already been secured.

Thanks to Beth and her fabulous minions, things are moving forward, and when I met her in person a few weeks ago, she assured me that we were doing well and everything was on schedule. Then she asked me if I had gotten my dress.

OH FUCK. My wedding dress. Honestly, I hadn’t really given it much thought. I mean, I knew I needed to get one (duh), but it was sort of this nebulous event that would take place at some point in the future. Beth gently reminded me that the future is NOW, and to please get on that shit ASAP.

Since I’m going on tour until the end of March starting next week(!!), time really is of the essence in terms of getting the dress ball rolling. So, I made appointments, and girlfriend is going to try on dresses with her mother tomorrow.

This is an appropriate segue to Skinny Blood Orange-Basil Margaritas because the thought of trying on wedding dresses makes me want to mainline tequila. My mother keeps using words like “creative” and “artistic” to describe her vision for my dress. At one point she mentioned a “detachable train”…

Oh, and did I mention mine and Logan’s parents are also meeting for the first time this weekend? After six years? (p.s. My parents are divorced.) Everyone is great, and everything will be fine, and people will love each other, and I love Logan, but please pass the TEQUILA. Thank you.

Lemme give you the quick skinny on this delightful seasonal margarita, friends. It’s sweet-tart with a refreshing herbal sweetness, and as you can see, the color is a rather fetching shade of fuchsia. There’s no added sugar in the mix, and a splash of club soda ups the volume of your cocktail (I enjoy having a little extra to sip on) while adding a festive fizz. With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, I went all out and rimmed my glasses with a pink Himalayan rose salt from Garnish, but you can obviously use regular kosher salt, or skip the rim job all together (muahaha). And if basil isn’t your thing, feel free to sub fresh mint or even a sprig of rosemary. When it comes to boozing, it’s particularly crucial that you do you.

Cheers, my lovable weirdos! Fellow East Coasters, stay cozy and safe in this ridiculous snow. It’s wild and woolly out there.

Skinny Blood Orange-Basil Margarita

Author - Serena Wolf

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Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Yields: 1 cocktail

Ingredients

• 6 large basil leaves
• 3 ounces freshly squeezed blood orange juice
• 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 ounces silver tequila
• Splash of club soda optional

For garnish:

• Kosher or flaky salt for rimming the glass
• Fresh basil
• Blood orange rounds/slices

Instructions

• Start by rimming your cocktail glass. Sprinkle a little salt on a small plate. Moisten the rim of the glass with lime juice or water, and dip the rim in the salt.
• In a cocktail shaker, gently muddle the basil leaves. Add the blood orange juice, lime juice, tequila, and a few ice cubes to the shaker. Shake vigorously.
• Strain the margarita into the rimmed glass with ice. Garnish with fresh basil and blood orange rounds if you're feeling fancy.