20 Top Tequila Cocktails

Of course, the margarita is the best known of all tequila cocktails! Did you know the classic recipe has no added simple syrup? Here's the classic way to make it: with three ingredients and a salt rim. It's true perfection. Try all our Margarita recipes (Frozen, 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 water it down and it could be a brunch drink too. The Paloma is traditionally made with grapefruit soda, but our recipe uses grapefruit juice and soda water (and it’s easier to find!). 

Ingredients: Tequila, grapefruit, lime, simple syrup, soda water

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 whole lot of lemon lime flavor.

Ingredients: Tequila, lemon juice, lime juice, simple syrup, bitters, egg white

There’s a new bubbly cocktail that’s ready to take over the summer. Meet Ranch Water! Yes, 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)

One of the best tequila cocktails out there is the Mexican mule! This drink is bold, it’s bubbly, and it’s ready to spice up your next gathering. A spin on the Moscow Mule, this version might be even better than its inspiration. The way the bite of the tequila combines with spicy ginger and zingy lime makes it impossible not to immediately take another sip. Here’s how to make this classy spin on the classic.

Ingredients: Tequila, lime juice, ginger beer

Here’s a highball that immediately shot to the top our favorite tequila drinks: the El Diablo! This one flies under the radar, but take one sip and you’ll become a new convert. Bold berries, zingy lime, and spicy ginger complement the bite of the tequila in a way that’s indescribable. You’ve just got to taste! 

Ingredients: Tequila reposado, crème de cassis, lime juice, ginger beer

What's more beautiful than a tequila sunrise? This vibrant cocktail features layered colors of a summer sunset. Even better: it’s so easy to make! 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 our homemade grenadine!

Ingredients: Tequila, orange juice, grenadine

Here's a uniquely delicious tequila cocktail: meet 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

Here's a must try cocktail for tequila lovers: the Cantarito! This tasty tequila drink is similar to a Paloma, but it’s got more citrus juices like orange, lemon and lime juice. Layer it in a traditional clay cup, and the effect is stunning: it’s a light and refreshing drink that tastes even better sipped out of a cold clay rim. Don’t have one? You can serve it in a highball glass too.

Ingredients: Tequila, orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, grapefruit soda, salt

Last up in our tequila cocktails, the Bloody Maria! 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

Here’s a refreshing cocktail that’s so easy, you only need 1 minute. Yes, it really is that simple: meet 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.

If you’re a tequila lover, run to to mix up this one: 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.

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 even better: it makes a stellar easy version of a margarita!

Want a fun spin on the margarita? Try a Cadillac Margarita! As the name implies, this 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 make everyone say, “Wow!"

We’re all about easy tequila cocktails that come together in a flash! Because sometimes you have time to plan ahead, but others you just want to a sipper for the patio. Enter: Tequila and Pineapple Juice! In 2 minutes with 2 ingredients, you’ve got a tasty drink that tastes like a legit cocktail.

Try this Mexican Coffee! 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! Swap out the gin for tequila, and you’ve got a whole new drink. 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.

When it comes to tequila mixers, we’re always on the lookout. So why not…OJ? This breakfast drink might not immediately come to mind. But here’s the thing. Tequila and orange juice make two classic drinks: the Tequila Screwdriver or the Tequila Sunrise! 

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: a intruiging spin on the classic!

Here’s an interesting mixer for tequila that makes one 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. It’s a fun low alcohol way to enjoy a good tequila that’s bubbly and refreshing.