A bottle labeled just "Tequila" can be made with up to 49% sugars that aren't agave. Only "100% agave" on the label rules that out. Every recipe below uses a tequila we've reviewed. The strongest, the Classic Margarita, is 1.8 standard drinks in one glass.
1. Classic Margarita
Tequila, orange liqueur, lime. Start here with a clean highland blanco like Cimarron Blanco, and change one thing at a time.
Recipe: 2 oz Cimarron Blanco, ¾ oz Cointreau, 1 oz fresh lime juice. Shake with ice, strain over fresh ice into a salt-rimmed glass.
2. Tommy's Margarita
Agave syrup instead of orange liqueur, so the tequila carries the drink.
Recipe: 2 oz Olmeca Altos Plata, 1 oz fresh lime juice, ½ oz agave syrup. Shake with ice, strain over fresh ice.
3. Paloma
Mexico's everyday tequila drink: tequila, lime and grapefruit soda. Our Paloma recipe covers the fresh-juice version.
Recipe: 2 oz Arette Blanco, ½ oz fresh lime juice, 4 oz grapefruit soda. Build over ice in a salt-rimmed glass, stir once.
4. Spicy Jalapeño Margarita
Muddle two slices of jalapeño in the shaker and leave the seeds out unless you mean it. A chili-salt rim adds the rest.
Recipe: 2 oz LALO Blanco, ½ oz Cointreau, 1 oz fresh lime juice, ¼ oz agave syrup, 2 jalapeño slices. Muddle the jalapeño, add the rest, shake with ice, strain over fresh ice.
5. Tequila Sunrise
Pour the grenadine last and let it sink. Don't stir it, or you lose the sunrise.
Recipe: 2 oz Casamigos Blanco, 4 oz fresh orange juice, ½ oz grenadine. Build tequila and orange juice over ice, pour grenadine down the side.
6. Ranch Water
Tequila, lime and sparkling mineral water. Made with a 110-proof blanco like Terralta Blanco 110 Proof, it stops being a light drink.
Recipe: 2 oz Terralta Blanco 110 Proof, ¾ oz fresh lime juice, 5 oz sparkling mineral water. Build over ice in a tall glass, top with mineral water.
7. Batanga
Tequila and Mexican cola in a salt-rimmed glass, stirred with the knife that cut the lime. Cane-sugar cola keeps it from tasting syrupy.
Recipe: 2 oz Cascahuin Tahona Blanco, ½ oz fresh lime juice, 4 oz Mexican cola. Build in a salt-rimmed glass over ice, stir.
8. Añejo Tequila Old Fashioned
An aged tequila stands in for whiskey, and agave syrup for sugar. It's the one place a sipping añejo earns its price in a cocktail.
Recipe: 2 oz Don Julio 1942, ¼ oz agave syrup, 2 dashes Angostura bitters. Stir with ice, strain over a large cube, express an orange peel.
9. Siesta
A margarita crossed with a Paloma, with a splash of Campari for bitterness. It drinks bright and dry.
Recipe: 1½ oz Siete Leguas Blanco, ½ oz Campari, ½ oz fresh lime juice, ½ oz fresh grapefruit juice, ½ oz simple syrup. Shake with ice, strain into a chilled coupe.
10. Mexican Mule
A Moscow Mule with tequila instead of vodka, and better for it. The agave stands up to the ginger.
Recipe: 2 oz Fósforo Blanco, ½ oz fresh lime juice, 4 oz ginger beer. Build over ice in a copper mug, stir once.
11. Cantarito
A citrus punch for one, served in a clay cup with three juices and grapefruit soda.
Recipe: 2 oz Fortaleza Blanco, 1 oz fresh orange juice, ½ oz fresh grapefruit juice, ½ oz fresh lime juice, 3 oz grapefruit soda. Build over ice in a clay cup, top with grapefruit soda.
12. Matador
Tequila, pineapple and lime. Shaken hard, fresh pineapple juice gives it a thick foam.
Recipe: 1½ oz Olmeca Altos Plata, 3 oz pineapple juice, ½ oz fresh lime juice. Shake hard with ice, strain into a chilled coupe.
13. Tequila Sour
A whiskey sour built on tequila. The foam is egg white, so use pasteurized whites from a carton.
Recipe: 2 oz Wild Common Still Strength Blanco, ¾ oz fresh lemon juice, ½ oz simple syrup, ¾ oz pasteurized egg white. Dry shake, shake again with ice, strain into a coupe.
14. Bloody Maria
A Bloody Mary with tequila. The agave works better with the spice than vodka does.
Recipe: 2 oz Arette Blanco, 4 oz tomato juice, ½ oz fresh lime juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire, celery salt. Roll between two shakers with ice, strain into a rimmed glass over ice.
15. Reposado Manhattan
Reposado tequila in a Manhattan keeps the vanilla and adds a peppery edge. Stir it cold.
Recipe: 2 oz El Tesoro Reposado, 1 oz sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica), 2 dashes Angostura bitters. Stir with ice, strain into a chilled glass, garnish with a cherry.
What Does "100% Agave" Mean on a Tequila Label?
It means every sugar fermented came from blue agave. Under Mexico's tequila standard, NOM-006-SCFI-2012, a product labeled only "Tequila" may have up to 49% of its sugars from other sources, as long as at least 51% comes from blue agave. The "100% agave" category can't add any. US rules point back to Mexico's: under 27 CFR 5.148, tequila must be made in Mexico under Mexican law.
The same standard requires a 100% agave tequila to say so on the label, as "100% agave", "100% de agave" or a close variant. If you can't find those words on the bottle, assume it's the blended category, and pay accordingly.
How Strong Is Each Tequila Cocktail?
14 of the 20 tequilas we've reviewed are bottled at 40% ABV, and 4 are stronger, up to 55% for Terralta Blanco 110 Proof. That matters in a mixed drink: the classic margarita is 1.8 standard drinks as written and 2.3 with Terralta Blanco 110 Proof swapped in.
| Cocktail | Pure alcohol | Standard drinks | Drinks per 750 ml bottle of the base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Margarita | 1.10 oz | 1.8 | 12 |
| Tommy's Margarita | 0.80 oz | 1.3 | 12 |
| Paloma | 0.80 oz | 1.3 | 12 |
| Spicy Margarita | 1.00 oz | 1.7 | 12 |
| Tequila Sunrise | 0.80 oz | 1.3 | 12 |
| Ranch Water (overproof) | 1.10 oz | 1.8 | 12 |
| Batanga | 0.80 oz | 1.3 | 12 |
| Añejo Old Fashioned | 0.80 oz | 1.3 | 12 |
| Siesta | 0.72 oz | 1.2 | 16 |
| Mexican Mule | 0.80 oz | 1.3 | 12 |
| Cantarito | 0.80 oz | 1.3 | 12 |
| Matador | 0.60 oz | 1.0 | 16 |
| Tequila Sour (still strength) | 0.96 oz | 1.6 | 12 |
| Bloody Maria | 0.80 oz | 1.3 | 12 |
| Reposado Manhattan | 0.97 oz | 1.6 | 12 |
Pure alcohol is each pour multiplied by the ABV on our review of that bottle, plus: Cointreau 40%; Campari 24% (US bottling; check your label); Carpano Antica 16.5%. Bitters dashes and syrups are left out. One standard drink is 0.6 fl oz of pure alcohol (NIAAA). Ice and shaking add water, not alcohol, so dilution does not change these figures.