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Spirit collection

Tequila & Mezcal Cocktails

Great tequila drinks keep the agave in front: the Margarita balances it with lime and orange liqueur, the Paloma stretches it over grapefruit soda, and Ranch Water strips it back to tequila, lime and fizz.

38guided recipesml + ozprecise specs

Use 100% agave tequila — blanco for bright, citrus-led drinks, reposado for rounder ones — and swap in mezcal any time you want smoke.

Margarita in a heavy low rocks glass styled in an agave-country rooftop bar with pale volcanic stone, limewashed wall and distant dusty hills.

Margarita

StrongShakenSour

The margarita is tequila, lime and orange liqueur, shaken hard and served over ice. No sour mix, no blender — the real thing takes three ingredients and about ninety seconds.

Paloma in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in a desert lodge bar with chalky adobe, worn mesquite and a blurred agave silhouette.

Paloma

MediumBuilt in glassHighball

The Paloma — tequila and grapefruit soda — is what people in Mexico actually drink more often than margaritas. It is refreshing, slightly bitter, and almost impossible to get wrong.

Naked and Famous in a clear shallow coupe styled in a desert lodge bar with chalky adobe, worn mesquite and a blurred agave silhouette.

Naked and Famous

StrongShakenSour

A smoky modern equal-parts drink: mezcal, yellow Chartreuse, Aperol and lime. Bitter, herbal and quietly addictive.

Tommy’s Margarita in a heavy low rocks glass styled in a quiet coastal Mexican bar with faded coral plaster, dark stone and a slatted palm shadow.

Tommy’s Margarita

StrongShakenSour

The margarita stripped back: good tequila, fresh lime and agave instead of orange liqueur. Cleaner, brighter, all about the tequila.

Mezcal Margarita in a wide stemmed margarita glass styled in a quiet coastal Mexican bar with faded coral plaster, dark stone and a slatted palm shadow.

Mezcal Margarita

StrongShakenSour

A margarita with a campfire in it: smoky mezcal, orange liqueur and fresh lime, over ice with a salted rim.

El Diablo in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in a contemporary cantina with handmade terracotta zellige, imperfect grout and matte charcoal soapstone.

El Diablo

MediumBuilt in glassHighball

Tequila, lime and blackcurrant lengthened with spicy ginger beer — a long, purple-red cooler with a kick. Tart and lively.

Tequila Sunrise in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in a restrained modern mezcalería with blackened steel, pale clay render and rough volcanic stone.

Tequila Sunrise

MediumBuilt in glassHighball

Tequila and orange juice with a sink of grenadine that blooms from the bottom up like a sunrise. As pretty as it is easy.

Mexican Mule in a real hammered copper mug with a full handle styled in an agave-country rooftop bar with pale volcanic stone, limewashed wall and distant dusty hills.

Mexican Mule

MediumBuilt in glassHighball

A Moscow Mule with tequila: agave spirit, lime and ginger beer. Bright, spicy and lively.

Ranch Water in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in a desert lodge bar with chalky adobe, worn mesquite and a blurred agave silhouette.

Ranch Water

LightBuilt in glassHighball

West Texas simplicity: tequila and lime lengthened with sparkling mineral water. Bone-dry and endlessly drinkable.

Oaxaca Old Fashioned in a heavy low rocks glass styled in a contemporary cantina with handmade terracotta zellige, imperfect grout and matte charcoal soapstone.

Oaxaca Old Fashioned

StrongStirredSpirit-forward

A smoky agave Old Fashioned: reposado tequila and mezcal with agave and bitters, over a big cube. A modern classic.

Rosita in a heavy low rocks glass styled in an agave-country rooftop bar with pale volcanic stone, limewashed wall and distant dusty hills.

Rosita

StrongStirredSpirit-forward

A tequila Negroni: agave spirit with Campari and both vermouths, stirred over ice. Bitter, complex and underrated.

Matador in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in a contemporary cantina with handmade terracotta zellige, imperfect grout and matte charcoal soapstone.

Matador

MediumShakenSour

Pineapple juice does something to tequila that no other fruit manages: it rounds the agave off without burying it. Lime keeps the whole thing from sliding into fruit punch. Drier than the color suggests.

Vampiro in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in an Oaxacan courtyard bar with smoke-darkened clay plaster, handmade tile and old timber.

Vampiro

LightStirredHighball

Somewhere between a Bloody Mary and a glass of sangrita, with orange juice and a little grenadine pulling it toward fruit. It's savory but not thick, and the tomato reads more as body than as flavor. Best over plenty of ice, with a chili-salt rim if you like one.

Mexican Firing Squad in a heavy low rocks glass styled in a contemporary cantina with handmade terracotta zellige, imperfect grout and matte charcoal soapstone.

Mexican Firing Squad

StrongShakenSour

Everything hangs on the grenadine here. Made with real pomegranate, it gives the drink spice and a dusty red color that earns the full 15 ml; made with red corn syrup, it flattens a decent tequila sour into candy. Angostura does the rest.

Division Bell in a clear shallow coupe styled in an Oaxacan courtyard bar with smoke-darkened clay plaster, handmade tile and old timber.

Division Bell

StrongShakenSour

Phil Ward's mezcal answer to the Last Word, with Aperol standing where the Chartreuse used to. Smoke and bitter orange up front, maraschino holding the middle together, lime keeping the whole thing from turning syrupy.

Tequila Sour in a heavy low rocks glass styled in an agave-country rooftop bar with pale volcanic stone, limewashed wall and distant dusty hills.

Tequila Sour

StrongShakenSour

Strip the orange liqueur out of a Margarita and this is what's left: tequila, lime and agave, sharp enough to sting. Blanco keeps it grassy and peppery. Reposado rounds the corners until it reads almost like a whiskey sour.

Cantarito in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in a contemporary cantina with handmade terracotta zellige, imperfect grout and matte charcoal soapstone.

Cantarito

MediumBuilt in glassHighball

A Jalisco street drink: tequila with lime, orange and grapefruit over ice, topped with a splash of soda. Bright, salty and thirst-quenching.

Mexican 55 in a slender champagne flute styled in a restrained modern mezcalería with blackened steel, pale clay render and rough volcanic stone.

Mexican 55

MediumShakenSparkling

A tequila French 75: agave spirit shaken with lemon and agave, then lengthened with sparkling wine. Crisp and celebratory.

Rude Cosmopolitan in a clear shallow coupe styled in a contemporary cantina with handmade terracotta zellige, imperfect grout and matte charcoal soapstone.

Rude Cosmopolitan

StrongShakenSour

Tequila in place of vodka changes more than the label. Where a Cosmopolitan is mostly texture and color, this one has something to say: pepper and damp earth from a blanco, pushing back against the cranberry.

Cadillac Margarita in a wide stemmed margarita glass styled in a contemporary cantina with handmade terracotta zellige, imperfect grout and matte charcoal soapstone.

Cadillac Margarita

StrongShakenSour

A top-shelf Margarita: reposado-grade tequila with Grand Marnier floating in for the orange, plus lime and agave. Smooth and luxurious.

Chapala in a heavy low rocks glass styled in a restrained modern mezcalería with blackened steel, pale clay render and rough volcanic stone.

Chapala

StrongShakenSour

Five things in the glass and none of them shouting. Orange juice softens the lemon, grenadine tints it a warm sunset pink, and the tequila's green pepper edge still comes through the fruit.

Mezcal Mule in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in a restrained modern mezcalería with blackened steel, pale clay render and rough volcanic stone.

Mezcal Mule

MediumBuilt in glassHighball

Ginger beer is usually the loudest voice in a Mule. Put mezcal where the vodka was and it has competition: pit smoke and roast agave pushing back against the root spice, with 15 ml of lime keeping both of them honest.

Mezcal Negroni in a heavy low rocks glass styled in an Oaxacan courtyard bar with smoke-darkened clay plaster, handmade tile and old timber.

Mezcal Negroni

StrongStirredSpirit-forward

A smoky Negroni: mezcal in place of gin, with Campari and sweet vermouth. Bitter, sweet and wreathed in campfire smoke.

Brave Bull in a heavy low rocks glass styled in a desert lodge bar with chalky adobe, worn mesquite and a blurred agave silhouette.

Brave Bull

StrongStirredSpirit-forward

A tequila Black Russian: agave spirit and coffee liqueur over ice. Two ingredients, deep and boozy.

Freddy Fudpucker in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in a restrained modern mezcalería with blackened steel, pale clay render and rough volcanic stone.

Freddy Fudpucker

MediumBuilt in glassHighball

A Harvey Wallbanger built on tequila instead of vodka: agave and orange juice with a golden float of Galliano.

Juan Collins in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in an Oaxacan courtyard bar with smoke-darkened clay plaster, handmade tile and old timber.

Juan Collins

MediumBuilt in glassHighball

Tequila does something strange in a Collins. With no orange liqueur and no salt to frame it, the agave's raw pepper comes straight through the soda, which is either the point or the problem depending on who's holding the glass.

Bloody Maria in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in an agave-country rooftop bar with pale volcanic stone, limewashed wall and distant dusty hills.

Bloody Maria

MediumStirredHighball

A Bloody Mary made with tequila instead of vodka — earthier and warmer, with the same savoury, spiced tomato backbone.

Tequila Daisy in a heavy low rocks glass styled in an agave-country rooftop bar with pale volcanic stone, limewashed wall and distant dusty hills.

Tequila Daisy

StrongShakenSour

Grenadine is what makes a Daisy a Daisy. Here it pushes 60 ml of tequila into red-pink territory, sweet at the edges and still plainly agave in the middle.

Tequila Mockingbird in a clear shallow coupe styled in a restrained modern mezcalería with blackened steel, pale clay render and rough volcanic stone.

Tequila Mockingbird

StrongShakenSour

Crème de menthe and tequila sounds like a dare. Lime is what holds the two apart, and there is a lot of it here. Keep the mint in a supporting role and it drinks like a herbal Daiquiri; overpour and it's toothpaste.

Midori Margarita in a wide stemmed margarita glass styled in a desert lodge bar with chalky adobe, worn mesquite and a blurred agave silhouette.

Midori Margarita

StrongShakenSour

Melon liqueur brings sugar and a green loud enough to look synthetic, which is why the lime runs high in this one. Skip that and you're drinking candy. Keep it at a full 22 ml and the tequila still gets heard.

Blue Margarita in a wide stemmed margarita glass styled in an agave-country rooftop bar with pale volcanic stone, limewashed wall and distant dusty hills.

Blue Margarita

StrongShakenSour

A Margarita turned electric blue with curaçao standing in for the orange liqueur. Same tart agave hit, party-ready colour.

Batanga in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in a restrained modern mezcalería with blackened steel, pale clay render and rough volcanic stone.

Batanga

LightBuilt in glassHighball

The house drink of La Capilla in Tequila town: agave spirit, lime and cola, stirred with a knife and served with a salt rim. Mexico’s Cuba Libre.

Tequila Manhattan in a clear shallow coupe styled in a contemporary cantina with handmade terracotta zellige, imperfect grout and matte charcoal soapstone.

Tequila Manhattan

StrongShakenSpirit-forward

Agave where the rye should be, in a two-to-one ratio against sweet vermouth. Earthier and more vegetal than a Manhattan, and less sweet-tasting than the numbers suggest, because tequila's pepper cuts through the vermouth in a way whiskey's caramel never does.

Changuirongo in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in a desert lodge bar with chalky adobe, worn mesquite and a blurred agave silhouette.

Changuirongo

LightBuilt in glassHighball

Tequila and lemon-lime soda, poured over ice, stirred if you feel like it. Mexico's answer to the vodka-and-Sprite crowd is a lot better than it sounds, mostly because a decent blanco has enough green pepper bite to survive the sugar.

Tequila Cobbler in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in a desert lodge bar with chalky adobe, worn mesquite and a blurred agave silhouette.

Tequila Cobbler

StrongStirredTropical

Crushed ice does most of the work here, chilling tequila and orange juice fast enough that the sugar never turns cloying. Agave's green, peppery edge cuts through the fruit rather than hiding underneath it.

Mexicano in a tall straight-sided highball glass styled in a restrained modern mezcalería with blackened steel, pale clay render and rough volcanic stone.

Mexicano

LightBuilt in glassHighball

Ginger ale does most of the talking: 45 ml of tequila and a squeeze of lime underneath a lot of fizz, tinted red with grenadine. Sweeter than a Paloma and lighter than almost anything else you can make with agave.

Sloe Tequila in a heavy low rocks glass styled in an agave-country rooftop bar with pale volcanic stone, limewashed wall and distant dusty hills.

Sloe Tequila

StrongShakenSour

Agave and blackthorn fruit have no business getting along, and yet. Sloe gin brings dark plum and a hint of almond, the tequila brings pepper, and the lime stops the whole thing sliding into cordial. Red in the glass, drier than that looks.

Tequila Fix in a heavy low rocks glass styled in a contemporary cantina with handmade terracotta zellige, imperfect grout and matte charcoal soapstone.

Tequila Fix

StrongStirredTropical

Crushed ice, a full 60 ml of tequila, lemon rather than the expected lime, and a maraschino dose you could measure in drops. Older than the Margarita by the better part of a century, and colder than almost anything else on the list.

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