11 Best Cinco de Mayo Cocktails, According to Bartenders and Restauranteurs
It’s about time to elevate your Cinco de Mayo celebration game—Coronas and tequila shots just don’t cut it. We talked to bartenders, restauranteurs, and mixologists to find the best mezcal and tequila cocktails to savor on the upcoming holiday.
Throughout our 11 expert-assembled recipes, you’ll find a blend of unique ingredients like soursop liqueur and spicy tincture as well as classics such as Topo Chico and agave syrup. The best part? You don’t need to limit yourself to shaking up these cocktails strictly on Cinco de Mayo. We guarantee they’ll taste great all year.
Related: 21 Best Tequilas of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
Tepache Highball 
Tepache Highball
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Patrick Timmis has been the beverage director of Bien Trucha Group in Chicago for over 10 years. He has a passion for mezcals and additive-free tequilas, and his cocktails have been featured in publications like Chilled Magazine and The New York Times. In this cocktail, he highlights tepache, a fermented pineapple drink that’s low ABV and tastes like a pineapple cider.
Ingredients
- .25 oz demerara syrup
- 1.5 oz G4 Tequila Blanco
- 2 oz highly carbonated mineral water (ex. Agua de Piedra, Jarritos Mineragua or Topo Chico)
- Top with 3 to 4 oz of Tepache Sazón
- Garnish: Pineapple wedge
Instructions
Rim you glass with Tajin then add all cocktail ingredients in highball glass. Add ice to the glass and lightly stir to fully incorporate. Finish off with a pineapple wedge garnish.
The Sierra 
The Sierra
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Amparo Andaluz is the restaurant and bar manager of Casa Amate at Andaz Mayakoba, one of the top 250 restaurants in Mexico located in Playa del Carmen. Amparo’s cocktail features raicilla, another kind of agave spirit that was once called “Mexican moonshine.” This botanical, almost pine-y spirit originated in Jalisco, Mexico, which is also the home of tequila.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz of raicilla
- .5 oz of aguardiente
- 1 oz of soursop liqueur
- .5 oz of ginger syrup
- .5 oz fresh lime juice
- 2-3 fresh basil leaves
- 1 thin slice of jalapeño bell pepper (optional, for a spicy touch)
- Pinch of sage salt (optional)
- A dash of sparkling water
- Garnish: slice of lime and basil leaf.
Instructions
In a mixing glass, add the raicilla, aguardiente, soursop liqueur, ginger syrup, and lime juice. Next, add the fresh basil leaves and jalapeño bell pepper slice (optional) to the mixing glass. Fill the mixing glass with ice and shake vigorously for about 15-20 seconds to mix and chill the ingredients. Strain the mixture into a tall cocktail glass filled with fresh ice then top with sparkling water. Garnish with a slice of lime on the rim of the glass and a fresh basil leaf on the surface of the cocktail. Sprinkle a pinch of sage salt over the top of the cocktail to enhance the flavors.
Corn Maize 
Corn Maize
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This cocktail was created by Lynnette Marrero in New York City, for the release of The Tequila Ambassador V.O., a book recently published posthumously by the world’s first tequila ambassador, Tomas Estes. Along with an Ocho Reposado tequila, this recipe also features Nixta Licor de Elite corn liqueur, a sweet-corn spirit made in Jilotepec, Mexico which is known as the birthplace of corn.
Ingredients
- 1.25 oz Tequila Ocho Reposado
- .75 oz Vago Elote Mezcal
- .5 oz Nixta Licor de Elote Corn Liqueur
- .75 oz avocado purée
- .25 oz Orgeat
- 2 Dashes saline
Instructions
To make the avocado purée, combine 100g avocado with 150g lime juice and blend until smooth. Afterward, combine all ingredients and shake with ice. Pour the cocktail into a rocks glass and garnish with a corn husk for extra flair.
Hot Love 
Hot Love
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“Made with Ancho Reyes Verde, a spicy Mexican liqueur made from poblano chiles, combined with fresh lime juice, this cocktail is the perfect balance of heat and tang.” says Demetra Kafkas, junior bartender manager at The Alida who invented this cocktail. “This is a great libation for guests who crave bold flavors and appreciate the versatility of a classic cocktail with a spicy twist.”
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz Olmeca Altos Blanco Tequila
- .5 oz Ancho Reyes Verde liqueur
- .75 oz lime juice
- .5 oz agave syrup
- 3 dashes of spicy tincture
Instructions
Rim half of a rocks glass with smoked serrano salt. Shake all ingredients in a separate container and add to glass with cubed ice. Garnish with a lime wheel and you’re done.
“Made with Ancho Reyes Verde, a spicy Mexican liqueur made from poblano chiles, combined with fresh lime juice, this cocktail is the perfect balance of heat and tang.” says lead bartender Demetra Kafkas at The Alida. “This is a great libation for guests who crave bold flavors and appreciate the versatility of a classic cocktail with a spicy twist.”
The Four-Hour Battle 
The Four-Hour Battle
Caroline Harper
Mauricio Loba is the bar and spirit director at Bar Comala, located in Portland, OR. This cocktail pays homage to the thousands of Indigenous Mexican soldiers who defeated the French Army in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Legend has it that the soldiers from Michoacán brought one of their state’s celebratory spirits called charanda to share with their fellow soldiers after defeating the French.
Ingredients
- .75 oz lemon juice
- .75 oz creme de cacao a la vanille (tempus fugit)
- .75 oz salers aperitif
- 1.5 poblano infused Uruapan Charanda Blanco Rum
Instructions
To create the infused Charanda Blanco Rum, infuse 3 poblanos with 1 bottle of Charanda for 24 hours. Then combine all ingredients with long shakes, and double strain into a chilled coupe glass. No garnish necessary.
Rayito de Sol 
Rayito de Sol
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This cocktail was created by an award-winning Zapotec bartender named Angel Ricardo Santiago Garcia who is based in his hometown of Tlacolula in Oaxaca, Mexico. We recommend completing this drink with Espadin from Lopez Real, an Indigenous Zapotec mezcal brand that can be purchased in the U.S.
Ingredients
- 2 oz grapefruit juice
- .75 oz Aperol
- .75 oz simple syrup
- .75 oz lemon juice
- 1.5 oz of Mezcal Espadin
Misty’s Sleeve 
Misty’s Sleeve
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This spicy cocktail, created by Tad Carducci (author of The Tippling Bros. A Lime and A Shaker), isn’t for fans of the flavorless. A few drops of habanero hot sauce definitely liven up this drink, but the acidity of fresh lime juice and orange help to cut the heat.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Hibiscus-Infused Pueblo Viejo Blanco Tequila*
- .75 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
- .5 oz Grand Marnier Liqueur
- .75 oz fresh lime juice
- .25 oz fresh orange juice
- 3 drops El Yucateco Green Habanero Sauce
*For the Hibiscus-Infused Pueblo Viejo Blanco Tequila
- 1 bottle Pueblo Viejo Blanco Tequila
- 1 cup loosely packed dried hibiscus (Jamaica) flowers
Directions
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain over fresh ice in a double old-fashioned glass, rimmed with hibiscus salt. Garnish with a lime wedge. To make the Hibiscus-Infused Pueblo Viejo Blanco Tequila, combine ingredients in a clean glass or food-grade plastic container and let steep for one hour at room temperature. Strain and store in a clean glass bottle.
More Tequila and Mezcal Cocktails We Love
Dr. Ian Malcom 
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This brilliantly named color-changing cocktail, created by Porchlight head bartender Nick Bennett, is guaranteed to impress your friends. The combination of tequila, ginger liqueur, and coconut simple syrup also make for a sweet, yet refreshing mix. Chaos theory, indeed.
Ingredients
- 1.25 oz Lunazul Tequila
- .75 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
- .5 oz Lime Juice
- .25 oz Coconut Simple Syrup (2:1 sugar to coconut water)
- Butterfly Pea Flower Tea (A blue, color-changing tea from Southeast Asia)
Directions
Combine all ingredients and top off with the Butterfly Pea Flower Tea.
El Alteño 
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This cocktail, created by Whisler’s barman Brett Esler, is perfect for those looking for classic Mexican flavors with a twist. That twist? A couple splashes of pomegranate liqueur and ancho chile liqueur.
Ingredients
- 1 oz Cimarron Reposado tequila
- 1 oz El Silencio mezcal
- .75 oz PAMA liqueur
- .75 oz Fresh lemon juice
- .50 oz Honey syrup (1:1)
- .25 oz Ancho Reyes ancho chile liqueur
- Small pinch of salt
- Sal de Gusano (Use to garnish half of an orange slice)
Directions
Add all ingredients to a mixing tin and shake vigorously until properly chilled and diluted. Double strain into a coupe glass, top with Sal de Gusano dusted orange half moon, and enjoy.
La Ciudad 
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Floretina Duran, bartender at the LB Tavern in the Lord Baltimore Hotel, is the mastermind behind this simple yet surprising cocktail. The addition of yellow Chartreuse, a famously complex French liqueur, adds a mildly herbal taste and aroma.
Ingredients
- 1.75 oz. Blanco Tequila
- 1.75 oz. Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
- 1.75 oz. yellow chartreuse
- Squeeze of lime juice
- Lime twist
Directions
In an ice-filled collins glass, combine the tequila, Domaine de Canton, yellow Chartreuse, and lime juice, and stir. Garnish with the lime twist before serving.
Scorched Earth 
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Another creation from Tad Carducci, this creative cocktail was inspired by fellow mixologist Misty Kalkofen’s love of mezcal. A bit of beet juice and just two drops of chipotle hot sauce will take the mezcal in this drink to new flavor heights.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Del Maguey Arroqueno Single Village Mezcal
- .75 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
- .75 oz fresh beet juice
- 2 drops El Yucateco Chipotle Hot Sauce
Directions
Stir all ingredients together with ice in an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a Terra Chip.
