Tequila is a delicious base for cocktails, including icy margaritas. Be sure to use a great tequila! Here are some easy recipes for the best tequila cocktails.

I am a huge tequila fan and I love trying different tequilas and sampling creative cocktails made with tequila (including margaritas). Here are some of my favorite tequila cocktail recipes using some top-shelf tequilas.

Blood Orange Margarita from Milagro Tequila

This is a lovely on-the-rocks margarita that looks pretty, tastes great, but is incredibly simple to make using Milagro Tequila.

Milagro Tequila Blood Orange Margarita. Photo courtesy Milagro Tequila

Ingredients

• 1½ parts Milagro Silver Tequila
• 1 part Fresh Lime Juice
• ¾ part Agave Nectar
• ¾ part Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur

Preparation

1. Pour all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice.
2. Shake and strain over fresh ice in a salt-rimmed rocks glass.
3. Garnish with orange and lime wheels.

SOL Cocina’s Mazatlan Mule

This is a great example of using tequila to make a tequila cocktail that is not a margarita. Those who are familiar with Moscow Mules, made using Vodka, will enjoy this take using tequila. SOL Cocina in Scottsdale, Arizona created this Mazatlan Mule featuring Don Julio, agave, and muddled ginger.

SOL Cocina Mazatlan Mule. Photo courtesy SOL Cocina

Ingredients

• 4 slices of Ginger
• 1½ cups Ice
• ¾ oz Agave Nectar
• 2¼ oz Don Julio Blanco Tequila
• 1 oz Lime Juice
• Mint Sprig
• Splash of Ginger Beer

Preparation

1. Muddle slices of ginger in a glass.
2. Add in ½ cup of ice.
3. Pour in Agave Nectar, Don Julio Blanco, Lime Juice and then shake and strain over fresh ice.
4. Top with ginger beer to fill the glass.
5. Garnish with mint sprig.

El Piña Diablo Margarita

This one is a tad spicy, made with 100% Pure Blue Agave Cruz Tequila, made in Arizona. You’ll need to make the infusion and the sour mix first. This is also a great tequila for sipping. Cruz also offers a variety of other recipes online.

Cruz Blanco Tequila is ideal for tequila cocktails. Photo courtesy Cruz Tequila

Ingredients for the Pineapple-Serrano Chile Infusion

• One bottle of Silver Cruz Tequila
• One Serrano chile, diced
• Half of a medium pineapple, diced

Preparation for the Pineapple-Serrano Chile Infusion

1. Start a few days ahead of when you want to make the margarita by making the infusion.
2. Pour one bottle of Silver Cruz Tequila in a plastic container and add one Serrano Chile, diced.
3. Add half of a medium pineapple, diced, into the container with the tequila.
4. Place in refrigerator for 2 days, checking daily for the desired flavor.

Ingredients for the Homemade Sour Mix

• One gallon Fresh Lime Juice
• ¾ gallon Fresh Lemon Juice
• ½ gallon Simple Syrup
• One Gallon Water

Preparation for the Homemade Sour Mix

1. Mix together all ingredients, adding more or less of each ingredient for the desired flavor.
2. Use in the recipe for the El Piña Diablo Margarita, below.

Ingredients for the El Piña Diablo Margarita

• 1½ oz Pineapple-Serrano Chile-infused Tequila
• ½ oz Agave Nectar
• Homemade Sour Mix
• Dash of Pineapple Juice

Preparation for the El Piña Diablo Margarita

1. Place tequila and agave nectar in a shaker.
2. Fill with Homemade Sour Mix.
3. Add a dash of Pineapple Juice.
4. Shake and pour over ice in a glass.
5. Garnish with Serrano Chiles.

Peligroso Sparkler

I sampled Peligroso tequila a while back and really enjoyed it. I found the Peligroso Silver to be ideal for making margaritas and other drinks. This is one of my favorite combinations—tequila and bubbles. This is definitely a refreshing tequila cocktail.

Peligroso Tequila is a smooth spirit. Credit: Peligroso Tequila

Ingredients

• 1½ oz Peligroso Silver Tequila
• ½ oz Agave Nectar
• 1 Fresh Squeezed Lime
• Champagne or Sparkling Wine

Preparation

1. Pour the tequila and nectar into a champagne flute.
2. Squeeze in the lime.
3. Fill with champagne.

Blanco Luxury Margarita

This one is a classic margarita, perhaps the best known of all tequila cocktails. This is a smooth margarita made with my very favorite mixing tequila, Don Julio® Blanco Tequila.

Don Julio Blanco Luxury Margarita. Photo courtesy Don Julio.

Ingredients

• 1½ oz Don Julio Blanco Tequila
• ¾ oz Agave Nectar
• ¾ oz Fresh Lime Juice
• 1 Lime Twist

Preparation

1. Mix Don Julio Blanco Tequila, agave nectar, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker.
2. Fill with ice.
3. Shake well.
4. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.
5. Garnish with a lime twist.

Arizona Biltmore Original Tequila Sunrise

The Arizona Biltmore Original Tequila Sunrise, made famous in songs, movies, and American pop culture, was created and made famous at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Tequila Sunrise was a “spur-of-the-moment” concoction, created when a frequent resort guest asked the bartender, Gene Sulit, to surprise him with a refreshing poolside cocktail. The Tequila Sunrise – blending soda and tequila with Creme de Cassis and fresh lime juice – is still a favorite tequila cocktail today at the Arizona Biltmore.

Enjoy a refreshing tequila sunrise, which is said to have originated from the Arizona Biltmore. Photo by igorr1 via iStock by Getty Images

Ingredients

• 1¼ oz Premium Tequila
• ¾ oz Creme de Cassis
• Fresh lime
• Soda water

Preparation

1. Fill glass with cracked ice.
2. Add tequila, Creme de Cassis, and a squeeze of lime.
3. Fill with soda.
4. Garnish with a fresh orange or lime wheel.

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Creating Your Own Great Tequila Cocktails

Whether you choose to visit a location that offers one of these delicious tequila cocktails or you plan to make it home with one of these easy tequila cocktail recipes, be sure to start with top-shelf tequila. Then, sit back, relax and enjoy! Be sure to check out Wander for more great cocktail recipes.

The Best Tequila Cocktails