14 Tequila & Mezcal Cocktails

Go beyond the basic margarita and try one of these mezcal and tequila cocktails at home.

If you love tequila and mezcal, you’ve probably already had a Paloma and more than a few margaritas. Now you can learn tips and tricks to make really good ones right at home.

The Paloma

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A Paloma is, hands down, the best drink you can make in a matter of seconds - and it doesn’t really require any bar tools. Except for a jigger. Things taste better when you measure them.

How It Tastes: Crisp, Tangy, Summery

Drink If You Like: Margarita, Greyhound

How To Make A Paloma →

The Margarita

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Here are several things a traditional Margarita is not: a frozen beverage, any color that isn’t a nice greenish-yellow, a cocktail in a glass that looks like a jumbo Champagne coupe. Can all of those things be delicious? Of course. But a classic Margarita will beat them any day, and it isn’t even tough to make.

How It Tastes: Tart, Summery, Refreshing

Drink If You Like:Paloma, Gimlet

How To Make A Margarita →

The Frozen Paloma

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Frozen Palomas have the magical ability to make you feel as though you’ve just landed face first in a pile of shaved ice that tastes like tequila and grapefruit. They’re perfect for warm summer days or whenever you have the time to sip a drink slowly enough that it doesn’t hurt your brain.

How To Make A Frozen Paloma →

The Frozen Margarita

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“If anyone ever tells you that you need to use five cups of ice for a Frozen Margarita, it’s important that you nod politely and disregard this information. What you really want to do is freeze all your ingredients first. That way, you’ll only need a small amount of ice - and your drink will actually taste like a Margarita, rather than 10 ounces of super cold water.”

How To Make A Frozen Margarita →

The Watermelon Margarita

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One day, you might become a party magician. When that happens, you’re going to need at least one good trick - like turning a regular Margarita into a Watermelon Margarita. It might sound complicated, but it only requires one additional ingredient, and you’ll never guess what it is.

How It Tastes: Smooth, Tart, Like Someone Told Summer To Get In A Glass

Drink If You Like: Margaritas, Watermelon

How To Make A Watermelon Margarita →

The Spicy Margarita

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A Spicy Margarita is just like a regular Margarita, but spicy. You use the exact same ingredients, with the addition of jalapeño. Why jalapeño? Because you can find this chili at most grocery stores, it provides a good amount of spice, and if you accidentally use too much, you won’t need to rinse your mouth out with milk. Probably.

How To Make A Spicy Margarita →

Jalapeño Tequila

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If you want to be able to drink a Spicy Margarita at any given time without having to worry about how many jalapeños you do or do not have, make yourself a batch of jalapeño-infused tequila. It’s about as easy as making a mayonnaise sandwich or a glass of milk, and, once you’re done, you can tell everyone within shouting distance that you know how to infuse things.

How To Make A Jalapeño Tequila →

The Strawberry Margarita

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You can use just about any berry in a Margarita - but we especially like the mild, distinctive flavor of strawberry. We also like the color of a well-made Strawberry Margarita, and we suspect you will too. The trick is: strawberry syrup. And if you suspect this syrup will be difficult to make or that you might have to use your stove despite the fact that it’s 90 degrees outside, think again.

How It Tastes: Tart, Summery, Like It Should Come With An Umbrella

Drink If You: Are looking for something fun and colorful or have an excess of strawberries

How To Make A Strawberry Margarita →

The Avocado Margarita

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If you’re anything like us, you know how it feels to stare at an avocado for hours on end while you wonder what it would taste like in a cocktail. You can stop staring now - because today you’re going to put some avocado in a Margarita. The result is a pastel-green drink with a little more body than a regular Margarita and a mildly fruity flavor that’s only barely distinguishable as avocado. Overall, this is a surprisingly subtle drink, and it’s even better when you make it spicy.

How It Tastes: Cool, Refreshing, Surprisingly Subtle

Drink If You: Would like something unique, and have always wanted to unlock the full potential of avocados

How To Make An Avocado Margarita →

The Mezcal Negroni

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A gin Negroni is called a Negroni, and a bourbon Negroni is called a Boulevardier. So why doesn’t the mezcal Negroni have a name (other than Mezcal Negroni)? It should, seeing as how it’s arguably better than both of those other drinks.

How It Tastes: Bitter & Smoky

Drink If You Like: Negronis & Last Words

How To Make A Mezcal Negroni

The El Diablo

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It doesn’t get as much attention as the Margarita or Paloma, but that doesn’t mean the El Diablo is in any way inferior to those other tequila cocktails. Once you make one, you might even refuse to drink anything else. Sure, that would be a little strange - but such is the power of this juicy, spicy highball that’s perfect for drinking on your stoop. Just keep in mind that quality ginger beer is a necessity.

How To Make An El Diablo →

Mango Mezcal Margarita

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Mango and mezcal were born to be together - and the best way to enjoy this combination is with a Mango Mezcal Margarita. It isn’t as tricky to make as it sounds, and it’s one of the single most impressive things you can drink in your home.

How It Tastes: Juicy, smoky, like hanging out near a barbecue on a boardwalk

Why You Should Drink One: Mango and mezcal provide compelling evidence that some things are just made for one another

How To Make A Mango Mezcal Margarita→

Mezcal Derby

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When it comes to mezcal, there aren’t a ton of so-called “classic” cocktails out there. That’s why we’re bringing you the Mezcal Derby. It’s an Infatuation Original, and it’s designed to be made at home. In other words, you won’t need to buy any hard-to-find bottles that will sit in your liquor cabinet for several hundred years, and you can probably find all of the ingredients within walking distance of the place where you sleep at night.

How It Tastes: Rich, summery, like the juice of a mythical fruit mixed with honey

Why You Should Drink One: You’ve never had one before, and you can probably find all the ingredients within a five-block radius of your home.

How To Make A Mezcal Derby→

Oaxaca Old Fashioned

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The Oaxaca Old Fashioned (invented by Phil Ward in 2007), for example, is a pretty straightforward riff on a classic, replacing the Old Fashioned’s bourbon with mezcal and reposado tequila.

How It Tastes: Light, elegant, like a regular Old Fashioned with an oversized personality

Why You Should Drink One: It takes about as much time and effort as a Buzzfeed quiz, and it’s significantly more rewarding than a Buzzfeed quiz.

How To Make A Oaxaca Old Fashioned→

Suggested Reading

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Guest Bartender Andra “AJ” Johnson’s Perfect Daiquiri

From our first-ever guest bartender Andra “AJ” Johnson, this cocktail is fun, funky, and impeccably balanced. In other words, it’s a Perfect Daiquiri.

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A Gin Rickey is one of the simplest cocktails around, and it’s also an anomaly, due to the fact that it has very little sugar.

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It doesn’t get as much attention as the Margarita or the Paloma, but the El Diablo is still a top-notch tequila cocktail.

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In order to make a tall, minty Queens Park Swizzle, you don’t need to shake or stir. But you do need to swizzle.

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