Who’s on the lookout for moonshine recipes?
Spring is a crazy time of year in our house and this Lime Moonshine Margarita is currently my saving grace! And thanks to Smith Creek and this moonshine recipe, I’m surviving! Ok, well…maybe it’s not as dramatic as that, but I can say that I have enjoyed a few of these in the past couple months when I have a minute of downtime!
As T and I were headed back from Branson this past February, it dawned on us, that the only souvenirs we brought back with us were alcoholic. (I promise we don’t need AA!) But, as it ended up on this trip, we visited the Crown Valley Distillery for a short tour and some tastings and we also visited Smith Creek Moonshine Tasting Room at the Branson Landing! Since then, I’ve been on the hunt for great moonshine recipes.
When you visit the Smith Creek store at the Landing, you get to taste (if you’re over 21 of course) the 13 different flavors that their Distillery produces! We tasted most of them and came home with a jar of their Lemon-Lime Moonshine! Once we got home, I needed to figure out what to do with it as I didn’t think drinking it straight was probably the best way to enjoy it!
Classic Margaritas
I am a huge lime margarita fan, so of course a margarita would be first drink of choice when looking for moonshine recipes! It is usually my drink of choice on most any occasion, however the older I get the more I prefer margaritas that aren’t so syrupy sweet! This Moonshine Margarita is the perfect balance of sweet and sour for me! It also doesn’t have too much of a bite that you get with a traditional tequila margarita!
Lime Moonshine Margarita
Ingredients
- 1 lime
- 3 oz lemon-lime moonshine
- Tonic Water
- ice
- 2 T sugar
Instructions
- 1. Zest your lime until you have 1T of lime zest.
- Combine the zest with 2T sugar in a shallow dish, pressing the zest and sugar together with the back of a spoon to release the fragrance and oils.
- Cut the Lime in half and cut a slice for garnish then juice half the lime into a glass or shaker
- Add the moonshine to the lime juice and set aside.
- Juice the other half of lime into a shallow dish.
- place a glass upside own in the lime juice make sure to get a good coating of juice around the rim and then dip it directly into the the lime zest & sugar mixture coating the rim heavily
- Turn the glass right side up and add ice to it
- Add the moonshine & lime juice mixture and fill to the top with the tonic water.
- Garnish with a lime slice
Final Thoughts
I’m thankful to Cristen of Food & Swine who taught me the art of rubbing the zest and sugar together to maximize the citrus fragrance and taste! Sugar naturally draws out the flavor of the citrus so it’s a great trick to use when working with any citrus fruit. A couple years ago I spent some time with her at the state fair making her famous lemon curd and I learned all about this process! I know you’ll be tempted to leave the sugar out all together or coat your rim with salt, but I’m warning you…don’t do it! The drink is bitter enough that the sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness and the zest really brings out the fresh lime flavor without being too overbearing!
Also, don’t be a drink snob and insist on having margarita glasses. If you’re like me, the number of times you actually make a margarita isn’t worth storing a specific glass! My current favorite glass to use is this ice tea tumbler!
I’ve enjoyed several of these since being home from our trip and I haven’t tired of them yet! It seems like a perfect excuse to head to Branson to snag a jar of this moonshine! Or, just ask your favorite blogger to grab you a jar when she’s there next! 😉 What other Smith Creek Moonshine recipes do you love?
Check out this page for 12 more Moonshine Cocktail Recipes!
This is my favorite post today! A “saving grace” marg sounds amazing (grace.) Question- is there tequila in it? Is the moonshine a whisky? Thanks for the recipe!
Moonshine is its own liquor!
Looks refreshing!
That is a great way to put it!!
Great post Katy! It makes me want to go down to Branson and get some for myself! 😉
It’s such a fantastic place! Your family would love it!