Best Tequila Cocktails — 8 Recipes to Make at Home
Tequila deserves far more respect than its reputation as a shots spirit. Made from blue agave in Jalisco, Mexico, it comes in three main styles: blanco (unaged, fresh and bright), reposado (rested in oak for 2–12 months, adding vanilla and spice), and añejo (aged 1–3 years, smooth enough to sip neat).
For cocktails, blanco is the standard choice — it brings clean agave flavour that doesn't compete with other ingredients. Reposado adds complexity to stirred drinks like the Tequila Old Fashioned. Save the añejo for sipping.
Here are eight tequila cocktails that show the full range of what this spirit can do.
1.Rub a lime wedge around half the rim of your glass, then dip in flaky salt.
2.Add tequila, Cointreau and lime juice to a shaker with ice.
3.Shake hard for 10–12 seconds.
4.Strain into your salted glass over fresh ice (or straight up in a coupe).
5.Garnish with a lime wheel.
Tip: The holy trinity of tequila cocktails. Always use fresh lime — bottled juice kills the Margarita. Use Cointreau rather than cheap triple sec; the quality difference is significant. Half-salting the rim gives guests the choice.
2
Paloma
Easy
Glass: Highball
Ingredients
50ml tequila blanco
100ml pink grapefruit soda (Jarritos or Ting)
15ml fresh lime juice
pinch of salt
ice
grapefruit wedge to garnish
Method
1.Fill a highball with ice.
2.Add tequila, lime juice and a pinch of salt.
3.Top with grapefruit soda and stir once gently.
4.Garnish with a grapefruit wedge.
Tip: The Paloma outsells the Margarita in Mexico. Use Jarritos Grapefruit or Ting grapefruit soda for authenticity; Fever-Tree Pink Grapefruit works well as an alternative. The salt is small but important — it rounds out the bitterness.
3
Tommy's Margarita
Easy
Glass: Rocks glass
Ingredients
60ml tequila blanco
30ml fresh lime juice
20ml agave nectar
salt rim
ice
lime wheel to garnish
Method
1.Salt half the rim of a rocks glass.
2.Add tequila, lime juice and agave nectar to a shaker with ice.
3.Shake for 12 seconds.
4.Strain over fresh ice in your salted glass.
5.Garnish with a lime wheel.
Tip: Julio Bermejo's modern classic from Tommy's Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco replaces orange liqueur with agave nectar, letting the tequila shine. Use 100% agave tequila (it matters more here than in the classic Margarita where Cointreau adds its own flavour).
4
Tequila Old Fashioned
Easy
Glass: Rocks glass
Ingredients
60ml tequila reposado
5ml agave nectar
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters
large ice cube
orange peel to garnish
Method
1.Add agave nectar and both bitters to a mixing glass.
2.Add the tequila.
3.Fill with ice and stir for 30 seconds.
4.Strain into a rocks glass over a large single ice cube.
5.Express an orange peel over the glass and use as garnish.
Tip: Use reposado, not blanco — the oak ageing adds vanilla and spice notes that make this drink work. Patron Reposado or Olmeca Altos Reposado are ideal. The agave nectar replaces the sugar cube, keeping the agave character consistent throughout.
5
Tequila Sunrise
Easy
Glass: Highball
Ingredients
50ml tequila blanco
100ml fresh orange juice
15ml grenadine
ice
orange slice and cherry to garnish
Method
1.Fill a highball with ice.
2.Pour in the tequila and orange juice and stir to combine.
3.Slowly pour the grenadine down the side of the glass — it will sink to the bottom.
4.Do not stir — the colour gradient is the point.
5.Garnish with an orange slice and cherry on a pick.
Tip: Use fresh orange juice — not carton. The grenadine should be poured last and left to settle; it creates the "sunrise" effect as it sinks. Real grenadine is made from pomegranate; avoid brands that are just red sugar syrup.
6
Spicy Margarita
Medium
Glass: Rocks glass
Ingredients
50ml tequila blanco
25ml Cointreau
25ml fresh lime juice
3–4 slices fresh jalapeño
salt and chilli rim
ice
jalapeño slice to garnish
Method
1.Muddle jalapeño slices in the bottom of a shaker — 3 slices for mild, 4+ for serious heat.
2.Add tequila, Cointreau and lime juice.
3.Fill with ice and shake hard for 12 seconds.
4.Double strain into a rimmed rocks glass over fresh ice.
5.Garnish with a jalapeño slice.
Tip: Double straining removes the jalapeño bits which would otherwise continue macerating and get increasingly hot. Taste the jalapeño before using — heat level varies enormously. Remove the seeds and membrane for less heat, leave them in for fire.
7
Mexican Mule
Easy
Glass: Copper mug or highball
Ingredients
50ml tequila blanco
150ml ginger beer
20ml fresh lime juice
ice
lime wedge and mint to garnish
Method
1.Fill a copper mug with crushed ice.
2.Pour in tequila and lime juice.
3.Top with ginger beer and stir once.
4.Garnish with a lime wedge and mint sprig.
Tip: A riff on the Moscow Mule using tequila instead of vodka. The agave and ginger are natural partners — slightly earthier and more complex than the vodka version. Use a blanco tequila so the flavour comes through the ginger.
8
Oaxacan Old Fashioned
Easy
Glass: Rocks glass
Ingredients
45ml tequila reposado
15ml mezcal
5ml agave nectar
2 dashes mole bitters (or Angostura)
large ice cube
orange peel and flamed orange peel to garnish
Method
1.Combine tequila, mezcal, agave nectar and bitters in a mixing glass.
2.Add plenty of ice and stir for 35 seconds.
3.Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube.
4.For the flamed orange garnish: hold an orange peel skin-side out over the drink and briefly flame it with a lighter before expressing over the glass.
Tip: Phil Ward's 2007 Death & Co creation introduced mezcal to cocktail culture. The smoky mezcal (just 15ml) transforms the drink without dominating it. Mole bitters from Bittermens are worth tracking down for this one.
Buying Tequila in the UK
Always buy 100% agave tequila — avoid "mixto" tequilas that add cane sugar. For cocktails, Olmeca Altos Plata and Espolòn Blanco are excellent value. For Margaritas and Palomas, a £25–£35 blanco is ideal. For sipping and Old Fashioneds, invest in a reposado or añejo: Patron Reposado, Don Julio Reposado or Casamigos Reposado are all excellent. Mezcal is a separate category — it's made from various agave species, often smoky. Del Maguey Vida is the benchmark.
UK shop picks
Buy Tequila for these cocktails
Bottles we recommend for the recipes above — shipped from UK retailers. Affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
What is the difference between tequila and mezcal?
Tequila must be made from blue Weber agave in specific Mexican states. Mezcal can be made from many agave varieties and has fewer geographic restrictions. The key difference is production: mezcal agave hearts are roasted in underground pits, giving the characteristic smoky flavour. All tequila is mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila.
Should I salt the rim of a Margarita glass?
It's personal preference. Salt enhances sweetness and suppresses bitterness — it genuinely improves the flavour for most people. Half-salting the rim (only one side) lets guests choose. Some purists skip it. Never use table salt; use flaky sea salt or margarita salt for the best texture.
What does 100% agave mean on tequila labels?
"100% agave" means the entire fermentable sugar came from agave, with no added cane sugar. The alternative is "mixto" — minimum 51% agave, with other sugars making up the rest. The difference is significant in cocktails and especially noticeable in hangovers; the additives in mixto tequila are what cause the rough after-effects.