What to mix with tequila covers eight reliable mixers: fresh lime, agave syrup, grapefruit soda, fresh tomato juice, orange liqueur, hot sauce, mezcal float, and bitters. Below: each mixer with the cocktail it builds, plus two cellar cocktails from the agave family.
Tequila is the most regional spirit in the Americas. 100 percent agave tequila tastes like the Jalisco soil it came from. Mixto (51 percent agave) doesn't taste like much. Below: eight tequila mixers ordered by how often a serious bartender uses them.
What to pour first.
Two cellar picks built on agave:
Common questions.
What's the best mixer for tequila?
Fresh lime juice. Either with agave syrup (Tommy's Margarita), with Cointreau (classic Margarita), or with grapefruit soda (Paloma). All three are bartender canon. Lime is non-negotiable; bottled lime juice ruins every tequila cocktail.
Should I use blanco, reposado, or añejo tequila for cocktails?
Blanco for shaken citrus drinks (Margarita, Paloma). Reposado for stirred or aged-character drinks (Oaxaca Old Fashioned, Tommy's). Añejo for sipping neat. The wood character is wasted in cocktails.
What can I mix with tequila if I don't have lime?
Grapefruit juice (fresh or Squirt soda) makes a Paloma without lime needed. Fresh pineapple plus a pinch of salt gives you a tropical highball. Hot sauce plus tomato juice makes a Bloody Maria.
What's a 3-ingredient tequila cocktail?
Tommy's Margarita: tequila, fresh lime, agave syrup. Paloma: tequila, lime, grapefruit soda (with optional salt rim). Tequila Sunrise: tequila, OJ, grenadine. All three pour clean and don't need much else.