Here are the top tequila cocktails! These drinks have something for everyone, from the classic margarita to the Mexican mule, tequila sunrise, and more.
Got a bottle of tequila to use up? Tequila is quickly becoming one of the best selling liquors in America. It’s best known for the margarita, but tequila is extremely versatile and stars in many classic cocktails.
This Mexican liquor made from the agave plant is at home in classic drinks like the margarita, Paloma, and Mexican mule. But it’s equally as tasty in a 1920’s style sour cocktail like the Tequila Sour, or a Bloody Maria, a spin on the Bloody Mary. With so many tasty mixed drinks to try…let’s start mixing! Want to start simple? Try these 2 Ingredient Tequila Drinks.
And now: the top tequila cocktails to try!
The classic margarita is the best known of all tequila cocktails, invented in in Mexico in the late 1930’s. Here’s the classic way to make it: with three ingredients and a salt rim. It’s true perfection. Or, try more margarita recipes like Mezcal, Skinny, Mango, and more.
Ingredients: Tequila, Cointreau, lime juice
Cousin of the margarita, this easy tequila cocktail recipe uses grapefruit instead of lime! Changing up the citrus makes for a simple sour that’s sweet tart and refreshing. It’s perfect for happy hour drinks, or it works as a brunch drink as well. The Paloma is traditionally made with grapefruit soda, but this recipe is a fresh spin using grapefruit juice and soda water.
Ingredients: Tequila, grapefruit, lime, simple syrup, soda water
Ranch Water is the unofficial drink of West Texas, essentially a tequila highball cocktail made with lime juice and Topo Chico. It’s like a bubbly, lighter version of the classic margarita, with all the tangy lime but less sweetness and booze.
Ingredients: Tequila, lime juice, Topo Chico (or other mineral water)
The tequila sunrise is a vibrant cocktail with layered colors of a summer sunset. All you need is 3 ingredients: and no special techniques or equipment. The flavor is refreshingly sweet, with just a hint of tequila. Try it with homemade grenadine!
Here’s a uniquely delicious tequila cocktail: the Siesta! This unexpected combination of tequila, Campari and fresh citrus juice is deliciously intriguing. Each sip is balanced and refreshing, with a sweet tart body and a hint of bitter on the finish. One sip in, you’ll be sold.
Ingredients: Campari, tequila, grapefruit juice and lime juice
Next up in our tequila cocktails: the tequila sour! It’s a delightfully refreshing sweet tart drink with a frothy foam topping! Consider it a mashup of a 1920’s sour cocktail with a margarita. This tasty drink has vintage vibes and a zingy lemon lime flavor.
One of the best tequila cocktails out there is the Mexican mule! This drink is bold, bubbly, and ready to spice up your next gathering. A spin on the Moscow Mule, the way the bite of the tequila combines with spicy ginger and zingy lime makes it uniquely irresistible.
Ingredients: Tequila, lime juice, ginger beer
Here’s a highball at the top our favorite tequila drinks: theEl Diablo! This one flies under the radar, but take one sip and you’ll become a new convert. Bold berries, zingy lime, spicy ginger, and tequila meld together in a way that’s indescribable. You’ve just got to taste!
Ingredients: Tequila reposado, crème de cassis, lime juice, ginger beer
Here’s a must-try cocktail for tequila lovers: the Cantarito! This tequila drink is similar to a Paloma, but it’s loaded with citrus juices like orange, lemon and lime. Layer it in the traditional clay cup, and it’s a light and refreshing drink that tastes even better sipped out of a cold earthenware rim. Don’t have one? You can serve it in a highball glass too.
The Bloody Mary is a classic vodka cocktail, but swap out the liquor for tequila for this spin on the classic! It’s absolutely worth trying: it’s tangy, spicy, and perfectly seasoned. The tequila brings a bright nuance to the drink, where vodka can get lost.
Ingredients: Tequila, lemon, tomato juice, horseradish, Tabasco, Worcestershire, celery salt
If you’re a tequila lover, run to to mix up the Oaxaca Old Fashioned! This modern classic cocktail is the pristine union of smoky mezcal, tequila, sweet agave and chocolate bitters. Take one sip, and you’ll take your hat off to the bartender who cooked this one up in 2007.
The Espresso Martini is trending as one of the most popular cocktails, so it’s only natural to try a tequila-based spin on this drink! Use tequila instead of vodka brings and earthiness to this classic drink. Shake it up and enjoy this buzz-worthy cocktail! (Use 1 oz tequila in place of 1 ½ oz vodka in the linked recipe).
Ingredients: Tequila, espresso, Kahlua or coffee liqueur, simple syrup
Blending up drinks for a crowd? Try the frozen margarita! With just 4 ingredients, it’s fast and easy to blend up a big pitcher of this refreshing frozen cocktail.
Here’s a refreshing tequila cocktail that’s so easy, you only need 1 minute: the Tequila Soda! Cousin of the Vodka Soda, this drink pairs tequila and soda water for a refreshing, bubbly highball cocktail. It’s one that’s perfect for sipping on the patio, or to mix up when impromptu visitors drop by.
Ingredients: Tequila, soda water, lime wedges
Here’s a deliciously easy tequila cocktail…Tequila Lemonade! The zippy citrus goes hand in hand with the zing of the spirit’s finish. So why not mix them into a quick 2 ingredient cocktail? It comes together in a flash, and it’s like an easy version of a margarita!
Ingredients: Tequila, lemon juice, sugar
We’re all about easy tequila cocktails that come together in a flash! Sometimes you have time to plan ahead, but others you just want to a sipper for the patio. Enter: Tequila and Pineapple Juice! With 2 ingredients, you’ve got a tasty drink that tastes like a legit cocktail.
Ingredients: Tequila, pineapple juice
As the name implies, the Cadillac Magarita is a sophisticated version of the margarita. Float Grand Marnier on top of your classic margarita and you’ve got the Cadillac. It has a nuanced flavor that will wow everyone.
Ingredients: Tequila, Grand Marnier, Cointreau, lime juice
This spin is a tequila-based twist on a classic Irish Coffee, much like tequila twists like the Mexican mule or the Bloody Maria. Mix two Mexican liqueurs into coffee — tequila and Kahlua — and you get an irresistibly delicious spin on spiked coffee.
Love tequila and a good G&T? Then here’s your new favorite drink: the Tequila and Tonic! It’s tart and bubbly, with just the right bite from the tequila. It’s a cousin to Ranch Water and Tequila Soda, but using tonic water instead: which gives it an intriguing sweetness and light bitter note on the finish.
Ingredients: Tequila, tonic water, lime wedges
When it comes to tequila mixers, we’re always on the lookout. So why not orange juice? Tequila and orange make a natural pairing, in both the Tequila Screwdriver and the Tequila Sunrise!
Ingredients: Tequila, orange juice
An Italian margarita is a variation on a classic margarita that uses amaretto in place of the orange liqueur (Cointreau), in combination with orange juice, lime juice, and tequila. The flavor has notes of almond and citrus on the finish, making a intriguing spin on the classic!
Ingredients: Tequila, orange juice, amaretto, lime juice
Swap in your reposado tequila for whiskey in a spin on the classic drink! The sophisticated Manhattan cocktail is among the first cocktails in history, and has stood the test of time. It’s got only three ingredients, but there’s so much flavor in one sip! This aged tequila has notes like vanilla and oak similar to whiskey, which makes it shine in this drink. (Swap it 1 for 1 in the linked recipe and use orange bitters.)
Here’s a tequila mixer that makes a surprisingly balanced drink: Tequila and Ginger Ale! Ginger beer is often mixed with tequila in a Mexican Mule, but ginger ale is something altogether different. The sweet, delicately bubbly ale makes a surprisingly tasty pair with the oaky and vanilla notes of tequila reposado
Ingredients: Tequila, ginger ale
Want to mix up your tequila drink repertoire? Try the Mexican Martini, aka Tequila Martini! Invented in Texas, there are lots of variations on this fusion concept of serving a margarita straight up like the standard martini. Like a good margarita, this one is seriously tangy and not too sweet.
The Negroni is another one of the most popular cocktails, and why not try a tequila spin? Swap out the gin for tequila in this famous equal parts cocktail for an intriguing spin that’s both dry and complex. Or, try the Rosita, a more nuanced spin that’s become a modern classic.
Ingredients: Tequila, sweet vermouth, Campari
Types of tequila
The secret to the best tequila cocktails? Buy a good tequila! A cocktail is only as good as the alcohol you use. Look for a mid-price range tequila (or a high end one, if your budget allows). You can buy either blanco or reposado, depending on the drink. Here’s the difference between these types of tequila and when to use them:
Tequila blanco (or “new” tequila) has been aged less than 2 months and has a strong, straightforward flavor. Use in easy drinks like the Tequila Sunrise or Frozen Margarita.
Tequila reposado (“rested” in Spanish) is aged longer, from 2 to 12 months. It has a more nuanced flavor, with notes of oak and vanilla. Use in classy drinks like the Classic Margarita or Cadillac Margarita.
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