Delicious Tequila Beverage to Elevate Your Happy Hour

While the margarita may be the most popular tequila drink, there are many other amazing tequila beverages that make for incredible happy hour drinks.

Sipped neat on its own, accompanied with other beverages, or mixed in cocktails, tequila is one of the most versatile spirits on earth. If you’re looking for an alternative to the go-to happy hour margarita, it’s time to start ordering it or serving it in new ways.

Whether you’re a mixologist looking for new drinks to serve or an agave fan searching for new drink ideas, here are five delicious tequila beverages to elevate your next happy hour.

Elevate Your Happy Hour with Flights of Additive-Free Tequila

The best way to enjoy tequila is to sip it neat, but many people who drink tequila in cocktails don’t even know which expression they prefer. A fun way to find out is by sampling a tequila flight.

Typically served on a flight paddle or tray, tequila flights allow you to sip, savor, and sample blanco, reposado, añejo, and extra-añejo tequila back-to-back, one at a time. It’s the best way to distinguish the nuances between the expressions and identify the one or ones that you like best.

When ordering or serving a tequila flight, choose a high-quality, additive-free tequila. This article from Cierto includes tasting notes on each of the four expressions and provides great information on how each expression differs from the others.

La Bandera

It’s a Mexican tradition to sip tequila alongside, rather than mixed with, other beverages. One of the best ways to do so is with la bandera.

La bandera, which translates to “the flag,” is served in three glasses — one with lime juice, one with blanco tequila, and one with sangrita. When lined side by side, the green, clear, and red colors of each beverage represent the green, white, and red colors of the Mexican flag.

Sangrita is a combination of tomato juice, orange juice, and lime juice. Some people add grapefruit juice to make it a bit sweeter and/or black pepper and jalapenos to give it a spicier, more savory kick. Check out this recipe for precise instructions on how to make a batch.

When enjoying la bandera, sip from each glass, one at a time. All three beverages are distinctly different and complement one another beautifully.

Paloma

The paloma is a perfect choice for a happy hour on a warm spring or summer day. Crisp and refreshing, a bit sweet and a bit tart, the traditional paloma consists of blanco tequila, grapefruit soda, and lime juice. However, you can make a fresher, healthier version by swapping out the grapefruit soda for a combination of pure grapefruit juice and club soda.

You can also replace the blanco tequila with reposado tequila if you prefer.

If you choose to swap out the sugary grapefruit soda for fresh juice and club, you’ll want to add a bit of agave nectar or simple syrup to add some sweetness to the drink. Served over ice, the paloma is typically rimmed with salt, but you can spice it up by rimming it with a mix of sugar, salt, and chipotle chili powder.

Tequila Old Fashioned

The classic old fashioned consists of bourbon or whiskey, simple syrup, and Angostura bitters, but you can turn it into a tequila old fashioned just by swapping out the bourbon for añejo or extra-añejo tequila.

Añejo tequilas are much darker in color than blancos and reposados because they’re aged for a longer period of time in oak barrels. As they age, they deepen in color and take on many of the flavors of the oak barrels they’re stored in, making them a perfect substitution for bourbon or whiskey.

If you want your next happy hour to be more about sipping a sophisticated drink and less about tossing back shots, the tequila old fashioned is the way to go.

In Conclusion

Tequila has soared in popularity in recent years, and the additive-free tequila movement might have something to do with it.

Many people don’t realize that the vast majority of tequila brands — even those labeled as 100% agave — include additives like caramel coloring, sugar-based syrups, and glycerin. Additive-free tequila is a healthier, more authentic product that respects tequila-making traditions.

Whether you order a flight, sip an old fashioned, enjoy la bandera, or kick back with a paloma, you can enhance your tequila drinking experience by opting for tequila that’s certified additive-free. And if you can’t resist your go-to happy hour margarita, additive-free tequila will make that taste better too.