Tequila is the most underrated spirit in the home bar. Here is what to make with it.
Tequila is the gin of warm climates. It is sharper, herbier, and far more versatile than its reputation as a shot spirit suggests. Buy a 100% agave blanco for shaking and a reposado for stirring. Skip the gold.
Mezcal is tequila’s smoky cousin. Where a recipe calls for tequila, mezcal will work, but the smoke takes over. Use it where you want it to be the star, not the sidekick.
The recipes
Cocktail
Classic Margarita
The margarita is the cocktail most Australian home cooks already know they can make, and the one most of them make slightly wrong. It is also the cocktail…
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Cocktail
Tommy’s Margarita
Invented in the early 1990s at Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco, the Tommy’s Margarita ditches the triple sec and lets the tequila do the talking. Why you…
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Cocktail
Spicy Margarita
Heat through the lime. Why you are pouring this tonight The Spicy Margarita is the Margarita with a slice of fresh jalapeño muddled in. The cocktail every bar…
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Cocktail
Mezcal Margarita
Swap half the tequila for mezcal and the Margarita shifts into a different drink: smoky, earthy, deeper. Why you are pouring this tonight Swap half the tequila for…
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Cocktail
Coconut Margarita
Coconut Margarita lives at the intersection of Margarita and Pina Colada. Why you are pouring this tonight The Coconut Margarita lives at the intersection of Margarita and Pina…
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Cocktail
Paloma
Australia adopted the Margarita. Mexico drinks the Paloma. The Margarita gets the press. The Paloma gets drunk on a Tuesday. One of these is telling us something.
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Cocktail
Mezcal Paloma
Swap tequila for mezcal and the Paloma picks up a layer of smoke that makes it feel like a late-afternoon drink even at lunch. Why you are pouring…
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Cocktail
Chilli Paloma
A slice of fresh red chilli pressed against the ice, a tajin rim. Why you are pouring this tonight The Chilli Paloma is the Paloma with a slice…
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Cocktail
Pink Paloma
Fresh watermelon juice or muddled raspberries push the Paloma into summer-party territory: pinker, slightly sweeter, very easy to drink too much of. Why you are pouring this tonight…
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Cocktail
The Mexican Mule
Swap vodka for tequila and the Moscow Mule picks up agave warmth and a lime brightness. Why you are pouring this tonight The Mexican Mule is the Moscow…
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Cocktail
The Mezcal Mule
The smokiest Mule of the bunch. Why you are pouring this tonight The Mezcal Mule is the smokiest member of a family that did not previously have a…
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Cocktail
Tequila Sunrise
Tequila, orange juice, real grenadine sunk to the bottom. Why you are pouring this tonight The Tequila Sunrise is the brunch cocktail people pretend they are above and…
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Cocktail
Ranch Water
Texas's gift to summer. Why you are pouring this tonight Ranch Water is what they drink in West Texas when the temperature gets above thirty-eight, which is most…
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Cocktail
El Diablo
El Diablo is the older, sneakier cousin of the Mexican Mule. Why you are pouring this tonight El Diablo is the older, sneakier cousin of the Mexican Mule.…
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Cocktail
Matador
The Matador is a tequila Daiquiri with pineapple. Why you are pouring this tonight The Matador is a tequila Daiquiri with pineapple, and it is one of the…
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Cocktail
Rosita
Why you are pouring this tonight The Rosita is the tequila Negroni nobody talks about, which is funny because it is a better drink than most of the…
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Cocktail
Cantarito
A Mexican tequila highball traditionally served in a clay (cantaro) cup. Why you are pouring this tonight The Cantarito is a Mexican tequila highball traditionally served in a…
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Cocktail
Michelada
The Michelada is a Mexican beer cocktail. Why you are pouring this tonight The Michelada is the Mexican beer cocktail and the only cocktail that improves a Modelo.…
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Cocktail
Tequila Old Fashioned
Reposado tequila in the Old Fashioned template. Why you are pouring this tonight The Tequila Old Fashioned is the cocktail for people who think the bourbon Old Fashioned…
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Cocktail
Tequila Negroni
Confusingly identical to the Rosita without the dry vermouth. Why you are pouring this tonight The Tequila Negroni is the Negroni for people who want the Negroni but…
Read the recipe →The simplest tequila cocktail is also the best: tequila over ice with a wedge of lime and a pinch of flaky salt. If that tastes harsh, your tequila is the problem. Spend a little more.