Tequila is more than just a liquor in margaritas or a shot to start your night. Though we use bourbon, gin, and rum more at home,  we do try our best to incorporate tequila when possible. In the spirit of season, we’ve come up with 3 Cinco de Mayo cocktails that will hopefully impress your friends beyond the traditional margarita.

Our tequila for the evening comes from Hacienda Corralejo, founded in 1755, and was actually the first estate in Mexico to produce the spirit as a commercial venture. When in your local liquor store, the tall and colorful bottle of Corralejo Tequila is hard to miss.

tequilacocktail-5Our first Corralejo Tequila creation offers a little sour and heat. I took several things I really like and decided to place them all into the shaker for the first cocktail of the night. I’m still thinking about remaking this one with orange bitters on top, rather than the cucumber.

tequilacocktail-2Here’s the recipe for cocktail number 1:

2 oz of Corralejo Tequila
1 oz jalapeno syrup (boil 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/2 water until dissolved, add a diced jalapeno to the syrup, cover, and remove from heat for 10 minutes)
1 oz lime juice
1 dash of orange bitters
egg white
Thinly sliced cucumber on the top.

To me, the second cocktail screams warm weather. I started by making a watermelon – cucumber simple syrup (1/4 water melon, 1 cucumber, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar) to add a really fresh overall taste. This is the drink I think about having on the beach under the summer sun. It might also turn into the drink I have to avoid, because it’s deceptively strong.

tequilacocktail-3Here’s the recipe:

2 oz of Corralejo Tequila
1 oz watermelon – cucumber syrup
1/2 oz lemon
1/2 oz triple sec

I lined the glass with long-thin slice of cucumber and garnished the cocktail with a watermelon cube and mint.

When you’ve had two, you might as well have a third. After having a couple drinks that felt more like a Cinco de Mayo celebration, this drink is my slow sipper. I’m thinking of playing with this one a little, but for now the recipe is pretty good. The pineapple and Fernet Branca is a great combination and there is just enough ginger beer to add an additional kick. Though I wouldn’t normally include tequila in this drink, the opportunity was too good to pass up.

tequilacocktail-4Here it is:

2 oz Corralejo Tequila
1/2 Fernet Branca
1 oz lime
1 oz pineapple juice

Add these ingredients in a shaker and then pour over 1 oz of ginger beer in a glass and garnish with fresh mint.

Just like with any drink you need the perfect pairing, and what’s better than guacamole! For once we decided to mix things up a little when asked to try adding Roquefort Blue Cheese, from Southern France, to our dish. To our surprise we both really liked it, the cheese wasn’t subtle and offered some unique flavors to our regular recipe.

tequilacocktail-7

Let us know what you think of these Cinco de Mayo cocktails and if you have any of your own!

The Corralejo Tequila and Roquefort Cheese was sent to us to use in our recipes. Though we used both, the recipes and opinions of this post are entirely our own. (Do you really think we would steer your wrong about guacamole?)