Emily Ten festive, flavour-packed cocktails to make your Cinco de Mayo celebration the most memorable one yet — from the classic margarita to the boldest spicy drinks on the table.
Cinco de Mayo is one of the most fun food and drink holidays of the year and the drinks are at least half the reason for that. A table full of colourful Mexican cocktails with salted rims and fruit garnishes sets the tone for the whole celebration before anyone has even tasted anything. And the range of flavours you can play with in Mexican cocktails is genuinely exciting — tart lime, sweet mango, smoky tequila, watermelon heat, tropical coconut.
I have put together ten of the best Cinco de Mayo drinks here — from the absolutely classic margarita that has been stealing the show for decades to a few unexpected combinations that will become new favourites. Every single one of them is simple to make and most come together in five minutes flat.
🍹 Jump to a Drink
🍋 Classic Lime Margarita
The one that started it all. Silver tequila, fresh lime juice, triple sec and a salted rim. Made properly with real ingredients it is one of the most perfectly balanced cocktails ever invented.
- 2 oz silver tequila (100% agave)
- 1 oz triple sec or Cointreau
- 1 oz fresh lime juice (2 limes)
- ½ oz agave syrup
- Salt for the rim
- Lime wedge to garnish
- Ice
- 1Salt the rim of two glasses by rubbing a lime wedge around the edge and pressing into a plate of coarse salt.
- 2Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add tequila, triple sec, lime juice and agave syrup.
- 3Shake vigorously for 15 seconds until very cold.
- 4Fill glasses with ice. Strain the margarita over the ice. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve immediately.
🥭 Mango Jalapeño Margarita
Sweet tropical mango meets real jalapeño heat in the most exciting margarita you will ever make. The spice builds slowly and beautifully and balances the sweetness in a way that keeps you going back for another sip.
- 2 oz silver tequila
- 1 oz triple sec
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 2 oz mango juice or mango puree
- 3 slices fresh jalapeño
- Tajin or chili salt for rim
- Mango slice and jalapeño to garnish
- Ice
- 1Muddle jalapeño slices in the bottom of a cocktail shaker with lime juice. Taste and add more jalapeño if you want more heat.
- 2Add tequila, triple sec and mango juice. Fill with ice and shake hard for 15 seconds.
- 3Rim two glasses with Tajin. Fill with ice.
- 4Double strain over ice to remove jalapeño pieces. Garnish with mango and a fresh jalapeño slice.
🥥 Coconut Lime Margarita
Creamy, tropical and impossibly refreshing. The cream of coconut makes this margarita silky and sweet while the lime keeps it bright and tart. Perfect for anyone who loves piña coladas but wants something with a little more edge.
- 2 oz silver tequila
- 1 oz cream of coconut (not coconut cream)
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- ½ oz triple sec
- Toasted coconut flakes for rim
- Lime wheel and coconut to garnish
- Ice
- 1Toast coconut flakes in a dry pan for 2 minutes until golden. Cool and use to rim your glasses.
- 2Add tequila, cream of coconut, lime juice and triple sec to a shaker filled with ice.
- 3Shake very well for 20 seconds — the cream of coconut needs a good shake to incorporate fully.
- 4Strain over ice into coconut-rimmed glasses. Garnish with a lime wheel and a sprinkle of toasted coconut.
🍉 Watermelon Jalapeño Margarita
Bright watermelon sweetness with a proper jalapeño kick. This is one of the most visually stunning drinks you can make and the flavour is every bit as good as it looks — sweet, spicy, cold and incredibly refreshing.
- 2 oz silver tequila
- 1 oz triple sec
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 3 oz fresh watermelon juice (blend and strain fresh watermelon)
- 2 slices jalapeño
- Tajin for rim
- Watermelon slice to garnish
- Ice
- 1Muddle jalapeño with lime juice in a shaker.
- 2Add watermelon juice, tequila and triple sec. Fill with ice and shake hard for 15 seconds.
- 3Rim two glasses with Tajin and fill with ice.
- 4Double strain into glasses. Garnish with a small watermelon triangle and a jalapeño round on the rim.
🍓 Frozen Strawberry Margarita
Blended until completely smooth and icy cold with real fresh strawberries. This is the one for hot days and crowded tables. The blender does all the work and the result is thick, creamy and completely irresistible.
- 2 oz silver tequila
- 1 oz triple sec
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- ½ oz agave syrup
- Salt for rim
- Fresh strawberry to garnish
- 1 cup ice
- 1Add tequila, triple sec, lime juice, frozen strawberries, agave and ice to a blender.
- 2Blend on high until completely smooth. Taste and add more agave if needed.
- 3Salt the rim of two glasses.
- 4Pour the frozen margarita into the glasses. Garnish with a fresh strawberry on the rim. Serve immediately before it melts.
🌸 Paloma
Tequila and grapefruit soda with a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt. The Paloma is what Mexicans actually drink on Cinco de Mayo and it is lighter and more refreshing than a margarita with barely any effort at all.
- 2 oz silver tequila
- Juice of ½ lime
- Pinch of salt
- 4 oz grapefruit soda (like Jarritos or San Pellegrino Pompelmo)
- Grapefruit slice to garnish
- Ice
- 1Fill a tall glass with ice.
- 2Add tequila and lime juice.
- 3Add a pinch of salt and stir briefly.
- 4Top with cold grapefruit soda. Stir gently once to combine. Garnish with a grapefruit slice and serve.
🫚 Mexican Mule
A tequila twist on the Moscow Mule — silver tequila, spicy ginger beer and fresh lime in a copper mug. Bright, fizzy and peppery with that addictive ginger heat that makes it almost impossible to put down.
- 2 oz silver tequila
- 4 oz spicy ginger beer
- Juice of 1 lime
- Fresh mint and lime wheel to garnish
- Ice
- 1Fill a copper mug or tall glass with ice.
- 2Add tequila and lime juice.
- 3Top with cold ginger beer. Do not stir — let it settle naturally so you keep the carbonation.
- 4Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint and a lime wheel.
🌅 Tequila Sunrise
The most visually spectacular drink on this list. Orange juice and grenadine create that famous gradient from bright orange to deep red. Beautiful to look at, sweet and citrusy to drink and endlessly festive on a Cinco de Mayo table.
- 2 oz silver tequila
- 4 oz fresh orange juice
- 1 oz grenadine
- Orange slice and cherry to garnish
- Ice
- 1Fill a glass with ice.
- 2Add tequila then pour orange juice over the ice. Do not stir.
- 3Slowly pour grenadine down the inside edge of the glass. It will sink to the bottom and create the sunrise gradient. Do not stir.
- 4Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry on the rim.
🍚 Horchata Cocktail
Creamy, cinnamon-spiced horchata spiked with tequila and a splash of Kahlúa. Rich and dessert-like with the warm spice of rice and cinnamon running through it. The most unique cocktail on this list and the one people ask about all night.
- 1½ oz silver or reposado tequila
- 1 oz Kahlúa
- 3 oz horchata (store-bought or homemade)
- Pinch of cinnamon
- Cinnamon stick to garnish
- Ice
- 1Fill a glass or shaker with ice.
- 2Add tequila, Kahlúa and horchata.
- 3Stir gently to combine. Do not shake — the horchata is already frothy.
- 4Pour over ice in a glass. Dust with a pinch of cinnamon and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
🍺 Spicy Michelada
Cold Mexican beer mixed with tomato juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire, lime and a Tajin rim. The michelada is the ultimate brunch and day-drinking Cinco de Mayo cocktail. Savoury, spicy, tangy and refreshing in a completely different way from everything else on this list.
- 1 bottle light Mexican beer (Corona, Modelo, Pacifico)
- 2 oz tomato juice or Clamato
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 dashes hot sauce (Valentina or Tabasco)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Tajin or chili salt for rim
- Lime wedge and celery to garnish
- Ice
- 1Rim a tall glass with Tajin by running a lime wedge around the edge and pressing into the spice mix. Fill the glass with ice.
- 2Add lime juice, tomato juice, hot sauce and Worcestershire to the glass. Stir well.
- 3Slowly pour the cold beer over the top. Stir very gently once just to combine without losing all the carbonation.
- 4Garnish with a lime wedge and serve immediately while cold.
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