Description: Mexico's most popular tequila highball, arguably even more widely drunk there than the Margarita. Cultural Background: Exact origins are undocumented, but it's long been a staple across Mexico, traditionally made with the grapefruit soda Squirt or Jarritos. Tips: A genuine Mexican grapefruit soda gives a different, often better character than mixing juice and plain […]
Description: The world's most popular tequila cocktail — tequila, orange liqueur and lime, balanced across countless proportions and legends. Cultural Background: Origin stories are numerous and disputed, most placing its creation in Mexico or the US-Mexico border region in the 1930s-40s; cocktail historians link it to the older Brandy Daisy family. Tips: Use 100% agave […]
Description: The tequila member of the 19th-century Daisy family, and widely considered the direct ancestor of the Margarita itself. Cultural Background: Tequila Daisies were documented from the early 1900s onward, with many cocktail historians tracing the Margarita's eventual creation directly back to this format. Tips: Crushed ice gives the classic Daisy texture and keeps the […]
Description: A bittersweet, citrus-forward modern tequila classic combining Campari with dual citrus juices. Cultural Background: Created by bartender Katie Stipe in New York in the 2000s, now a well-established modern tequila classic. Tips: Fresh juice from both citrus fruits makes a real difference to the final balance. Variations: A pinch of salt in the shaker […]
Description: The tequila member of the Collins family, tall and fizzy in the same structure as the Tom and John Collins. Cultural Background: A natural modern extension of the Collins format as tequila gained wider international popularity as a sipping and mixing spirit. Tips: Build the soda top gently to preserve as much carbonation as […]
Description: A minimalist, low-calorie tequila highball that's become a favorite across West Texas and beyond in recent years. Cultural Background: Long popular in West Texas ranching communities, it gained wider national attention in the US in the late 2010s and 2020s. Tips: A genuinely sparkling, crisp mineral water (rather than flat soda) gives the cleanest […]
Description: A muddled, citrus-forward tequila drink, following the same smash template as the Whiskey Smash but built on agave. Cultural Background: A modern craft-cocktail adaptation of the smash format, growing popular as tequila's reputation shifted toward a sipping spirit in the 2000s and 2010s. Tips: Muddle the mint gently — over-muddling releases bitter chlorophyll. Variations: […]
Description: An equal-parts modern classic modeled on the Paper Plane's structure, built around smoky mezcal instead of bourbon. Cultural Background: Created by bartender Joaquín Simó in New York in 2011, quickly adopted as a modern staple for its clean, memorable equal-parts formula. Tips: Equal parts makes this easy to remember and easy to scale for […]
Description: A simple, bracing tequila and grapefruit highball, close in spirit to a tequila Greyhound. Cultural Background: A vintage Mexican cocktail, an early precursor to the now more famous Paloma before grapefruit soda became the standard mixer. Tips: Fresh grapefruit juice, with its natural bitterness, is the whole appeal of this drink. Variations: Top with […]
Description: A simple, two-ingredient tequila and coffee liqueur sipper, a tequila answer to the vodka-based Black Russian. Cultural Background: A mid-1900s Mexican classic, popular as tequila cocktails gained wider recognition internationally. Tips: A quality coffee liqueur (like Kahlúa) makes a real difference in such a simple recipe. Variations: A splash of cola turns this into […]