20 Best Tequila Drinks To Order at a Bar

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Made with agave, the Mexican pearl, a.k.a tequila, is a globally popular drink that has been known to raise even the lowest of spirits. Vibrant, alive, and exceptionally strong, tequila is also very flavorful and tasty, even though it bites. 

There is much more to tequila than what meets the eye. There are three main types of tequila in terms of aging- banco, reposado, and anejo. 

The tequila blanco ages the least, up to three months. The reposado tequila ages from three to 12 months, and the anejo up to three years. In terms of agave percentage, there is tequila mixto and 100% agave tequila. 

The reposado and anejo varieties are known as very smooth and rich, so they rarely mix with other drinks, though they make excellent cocktail ingredients or bases

The tequila blanco is the strongest one of the three main types, so it is mainly used for cocktails or shots, while the reposado and anejo varieties are intended to sip slowly and neat. 

Still, tequila is best used as the heart wants, so nothing has been written in stone. Therefore you can mix and match the way you like it best. So, what are the best tequila drinks to order at a bar? 

Also check: 25 Best Vodka Drinks To Order At a Bar

Even though tequila is open to combinations and suggestions, it still has certain limits you shouldn’t test. Mixing tequila the right way offers a very rewarding experience, but mixing it wrong, will undoubtedly lead to a disaster. 

Top 20 Tequila Drinks To Order at a Bar

To save you unnecessary grief and help you enjoy tequila to the fullest, in this article, I’m listing the best tequila drinks to order at a bar. 

1. Tequila Sunrise

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Made with tequila, orange juice, and grenadine, tequila sunrise is one of the most popular tequila drinks. The grenadine and orange juice mask up the tequila sting, especially the Blanco variety. 

This mixer is sweet and delicious, with just a tad of bite, enough to remind you that it isn’t only orange juice in the glass. This is, however, a strong drink, so you may want to pace yourself with it. 

Check out: 25 Strongest Drinks To Order At A Bar

2. Tequila Soda

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Made with only two ingredients- tequila and soda, this mixer is refreshing and bubbly. The soda bubbles dull up the tequila edge.

However, it is still tequila, so if don’t expect it to be too gentle. Nevertheless, it is a delicious and refreshing mixer, definitely worth trying. 

This tequila drink comes in handy when you don’t feel like thinking too much and just want to have a pleasant and refreshing drink with a fun kick. 

Also check: 27 Cheap Drinks To Order At A Bar

3. Margarita

MargaritaMargarita is a delicious tequila cocktail made with tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice. It is sweet, sour, and bitter at the same time.

These contrasting flavors are balanced to perfection in this cocktail, offering you the utmost enjoyment, whether for an afternoon relaxation or an evening get-together at a bar. 

4. Paloma

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Containing tequila, simple syrup, grapefruit juice, and soda water, this tequila drink will amaze you with its gentility and deliciousness.

The fizziness of the soda water does an excellent job taming the fierceness of the tequila, while the grapefruit juice and the simple syrup and impact the flavor, creating a sweet and sour delicacy. 

This is a pretty light tequila drink, pleasant to drink, with just a hint of tequila bite. 

5. Long Island

Long Island is known as one of the strongest cocktails you can order at a bar. It contains tequila, vodka, rum, gin, triple sec, coke, and lime.

It is very delicious and sweet and surprisingly easy to drink. However, be very careful with it as it combines five kinds of alcohol, and you shouldn’t take it lightly. 

6. Negroni 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Made with tequila, sweet vermouth, and Campari, this is a very delicious but a pretty strong cocktail. It is also a very versatile drink, where all the ingredients come to light in their own right.

The sharpness of the tequila mildens up as a result of the vermouth sweetness and Campari, but you should still pace yourself, as it is easy to get carried away with it. 

Perfect for a night out with friends, an excellent conversation starter, and a very practical mood improver. 

7. Tequila Screwdriver

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A tequila screwdriver is a regular screwdriver but with tequila instead of vodka. Mixed with orange juice, the tequila mildens down but is still very noticeable.

Tequila screwdriver is stronger-tasting than vodka screwdriver. While you only feel a hint of vodka in the vodka screwdriver and usually at the end of your sip, the tequila screwdriver has tequila written all over it. 

Tell your mixologist to go easy on the tequila if you are e beginner so that you can get the feel of the mix. Otherwise, it is a delicious and refreshing drink and one of the most popular tequila mixers. 

8. Pineapple Tequila

 

 
 
 
 
 
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The pineapple is a gentle-flavored fruit, but it has a very specific taste that is impossible to cover. As a result, when mixed with tequila, the pineapple flavor is still very noticeable. 

If you like the effects of tequila but you don’t care for the taste that much, you should go for this mixer. 

The best description would be pineapple-flavored tequila. It still has the tequila bite, but with the creaminess of the pineapple juice, it is significantly toned down. However, the pineapple flavor is not as vital to cover up for the tequila, but they balance each other very, very well. 

9. Tequila Smash 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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This is a more complex cocktail containing four ingredients that seemingly don’t go together, but once mixed, they create a great drink.

The tequila smash has blackberry juice, 7Up, lime juice, and tequila. The blackberry juice bonds with the lime juice, whereby the blackberry sweetens up the whole story, while the lime juice infuses freshness and sourness. 

The 7up sweeps in and tones down the tequila wilderness by altering the texture of the drink, making it frothy and gentler. This is a pretty universal cocktail that many find delicious and easy to drink. 

10. Tequila Sour

This rather complex cocktail contains tequila, lemon juice, lime juice, bitters, simple syrup, and egg whites. I wouldn’t recommend you have this cocktail, even though it tastes very delicious unless you are absolutely certain that the mixologist knows what they are doing. 

Since it has a raw egg white, the chances of contracting something are substantial, so unless you believe the mixologist go with another cocktail and never do this one at home. Otherwise, this is a very delicious cocktail, a well-rounded, creamy cocktail with a hint of tequila and lots of character.

11. Mexican Mule

 

 
 
 
 
 
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The Mexican Mule is a variation of the Moscow mule. Instead of vodka, it has tequila, while the rest of the ingredients remain the same. It also has lime juice and ginger beer. It is edgy, has a lot of character, as well as very refreshing. 

The tequila bite is still there, but it is nicely hidden behind the ginger beer sweetness. If you like trying new and unusual tastes, you should give this tequila drink a chance. 

12. El Diablo 

Made with tequila reposado, this is one of the rare tequila drinks requiring the reposado variety. It also calls for lime juice, ginger beer, and crème de cassis. It is a surprisingly gentle during, mainly due to the reposado tequila, which is way gentler than the blanco type. 

You will feel hints of smokiness, spiciness, freshness, sourness, sweetness, and all that polished over with the creamy crème de cassis. 

13. Siesta

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Containing Campari, tequila, grapefruit juice, and lime juice, this cocktail is the perfect balance of bitter, sweet, refreshing, and biting. The lime and grapefruit juice are the fruity component of the cocktail, bringing sweetness and sourness to the final result. 

The Campari is a complete story in itself. Tasting like orange, cherries, clove, as well as cinnamon, it would be logical that the Campari is the main flavor-giver, but it is more of a behind-the-stage ingredient, augmenting the other included flavors.

14. Bloody Maria 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Bloody Maria is the tequila version of Bloody Mary. Although its ingredients are substantially different than those in Bloody Mary, both cocktails observe the same concept.

Bloody Maria is a bit more complex, including tequila, lemon juice, tomato juice, horse radish, tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and celery. 

This cocktail is a genuine flavor explosion, including quite a few contrasting but complementary flavors. With all of the ingredients mixed, the tequila doesn’t have a lot of space to shine, so it shows a little of its face near the end with the classic tequila burn.

The tomato sauce has the main role here, as it is the main ingredient toning down the tequila sting.

15. Cadillac Margarita  

 

 
 
 
 
 
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The Cadillac Margarita is a margarita on steroids. Expressively orange-flavored, bright-colored, and very flavorful, the Cadilac Margarita is for you if you like regular margaritas but you wouldn’t mind them being a little stronger. It has tequila, Grand Marnier, Cointreau, and lime juice. 

16. Ranch Water 

This is a gentle and refreshing tequila cocktail. It contains tequila lime juice and mineral water. The lime juice turns the entire story into lemonade, which increases the freshness of the entire beverage. The classic tequila bite is still present, but it is significantly toned down by the mineral water bubbles. 

17. Tequila Lemonade 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Tequila lemonade is probably one of the most refreshing tequila cocktails on this list. The tequila sting I still present, but the lemonade sweet sourness does a great job taming the wild tequila drink. This cocktail is the perfect way to spend an afternoon at the bar, relaxing after work. 

Although you can and should have it whenever you want to, I don’t recommend you drink this cocktail if you want a wilder evening; it won’t get you there. 

18. Dirty Tequila Martini 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Made with nothing more than tequila, olive brine, and chili oil, this is a really dirty drink. Strong, biting, bitter, and even hot and spicy, don’t have this tequila drink unless you are very tolerant to and curious about bizarre flavors that seem to work. 

This cocktail isn’t for the “vanilla-loving” drinkers but for the braver and more explorative ones. 

19. Spicy Jalapeno Margarita

 

 
 
 
 
 
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The frozen jalapeno margarita is another very spicy and very strong tequila cocktail intended for the strong-spirited ones. Made with tequila, triple sec, agave syrup, lime, and jalapeno, this tequila cocktail tastes more like tequila than tequila. 

The triple sec gives this cocktail a slight citrus and fruity note, but it isn’t strong enough to establish itself firmly into the mix. Instead, it is jalapeno and tequila that rule the flavor dimension.

The agave syrup and the lime inject a somewhat sweet and refreshing note, but still, they are overshadowed by the tequila and jalapeno. 

Now, this doesn’t mean that the cocktail would be the same if it only contained jalapeno and tequila, excluding the rest of the ingredients. They work in the background, discreetly mixing the two dominant flavors.  

20. Frozen Rosalita 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Made with tequila reposado, lime juice, amaro Montenegro, and agave nectar, this cocktail is excellently rounded. You can feel the tequila, but since it is the reposado kind, it has a deeper and richer flavor.

The lime juice and agave nectar work exceptionally well together, creating the perfect flavor combination, including sweet, sour, spicy, and herbal. 

If you like sweets, you will like this cocktail as it is a delightfully delicious balance among the included ingredients. 

What’s A Good Tequila Drink At The Bar?

There are a lot of delicious tequila drinks you can get at a bar. Most of the vodka cocktails usually do well when the vodka is switched with tequila. For example, Bloody Mary has a tequila counterpart called Bloody Maria, which is equally delicious, but a little edgier. 

There is a tequila screwdriver where you use tequila instead of vodka. Another one is the Mexican Mule, which is a tequila version of the Moscow Mule.

You can also order margaritas, Palomas, frozen Rozalita, Jalapeno spicy tequila, dirty martini, tequila lemonade, and many others. 

What Are The Most Popular Drinks With Tequila?

The most popular tequila mix is margaritas, but they are not the only famous tequila cocktail. Ranch water is also very popular; tequila-lemonade, tequila sour, el diablo, siesta, long island, tequila soda, tequila sunrise, negroni, or tequila smash are some of the many popular tequila drinks. 

If you are not very knowledgeable in the subject of tequila and tequila mixing, you can ask the mixologist to make you a drink per your description.

Don’t experiment with things you don’t know, especially when it comes to tequila, as it can be merciless if you don’t know your way around it.

How Do You Order Tequila At A Bar?

If you are an experienced tequila aficionado, you will have no problem ordering tequila at a bar, but things get trickier if you are just dipping your toes in the tequila department.

First, you need to know which types of tequila are there and have a clear intention in mind about what you plan on doing with the tequila shots, sipping, or cocktail. 

Always order 100% agave tequila as the tequila mixto (51% agave and 49% other ingredients) is a suspicious game that gets you drunk before you know it, and don’t get me started on the hangover. 

If you want to do shots, order tequila blanco. If you want slow-sipping tequila, order tequila reposado, anejo, or extra anejo. Those are the types that age longer and are, therefore, smooth and rich. 

Explain to the bartender what you want and hope that they know what they are doing. If you want a tequila cocktail, order the lightest one and take it slow. Don’t test your limits while you are still a beginner. 

Simple Tequila Drinks To Order At Bar

The simple tequila drink to order at a bar is tequila on the rocks with a twist. Another simple tequila drink is tequila anejo neat. You can also order a tequila shot, chased by water or juice, as well as order one of the many two-ingredient tequila drinks. 

Simple Tequila Drinks 2 Ingredients

Tequila screwdriver, tequila-cranberry, tequila-soda, tequila-coke, tequila- Sprite and basically any other soft drink spiked with tequila could be an excellent two-ingredient drink. 

Chad Smith

Meet Chad Smith, a seasoned bartender with a passion for mixology. He's the founder of Tin Roof Drink Community, a blog where he shares expert tips, creative recipes, and fosters a vibrant community of cocktail enthusiasts and aspiring bartenders. Join Chad as he takes you on a flavorful journey through the world of drinks. Cheers!

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