tequila – Syndication Server

Suerte’s canned tequila cocktails are basic in a good way

Except for the ranch water, which is 33 percent too simple.

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

In the land of canned cocktails, tequila is crown regent.

There’s something about the agave-based spirit that seems to adjust to aluminum preservation better than whiskey, vodka or gin. Maybe it’s the brighter mixers that tend to accompany these cocktails. Zesty citrus travels well, and in a simple drink like a margarita or paloma it’s allowed to shine a little more brightly than in a more complex beverage.

Either way, tequila makes for an easy to-go drink. Suerte saw this as an opportunity — a way to bring its tequila to new audiences while highlighting how it mixes. Each of the company’s three canned cocktails features its tequila blanco, clocking in at a line-straddling balance between hard seltzer and high gravity at seven percent alcohol by volume (ABV).

I’m not super familiar with Suerte, but I’m happy to give it a try. Let’s see how it turns out.

Margarita: A-

It pours with a little more effervescence than you’d expect from a margarita, but that’s a feature, not a bug in the world of canned cocktails. It smells strong. The first whiff off the top is buttery tequila blanco. Even though it’s only seven percent ABV, it feels heavier.

Fortunately, the first sip leans in a different direction. The tequila is prevalent, but not overwhelming. Instead, the headliner is crisp, tart lime. This isn’t citric acid, which leaves a bready aftertaste behind. This is the real thing, which gives the impression of a fresh made cocktail. That tartness fights with the agave nectar a bit, releasing a sweet-and-sour braid that serves as the barge that floats the Suerte tequila along.

That tequila is clean and tasty, a light rush of baked agave and minor hints of spice. By those powers combined, you get a refreshing, easy to sip canned cocktail that offers something poundable for someone looking for a quick pre-game drink and a little complexity for someone looking for something to drink over the course of a half hour.

It loses a bit of its charm out of the can — pouring it over ice allows the lime and tequila to shine a bit brighter. Sipping from that aluminum is more of a “B” experience. But with a little preparation this is an A- cocktail — not quite elite, but pretty dang good.

Paloma: B

It pours a faint pink and smells both boozy and juicy. At 160 calories you’re getting a little more natural juice than your typical slim can cocktail and a noticeable uptick in booze at seven percent compared to the usual five. There’s a certain amount of… I guess for me it’s chewable vitamin vibes that come with the smell of canned grapefruit. It’s not my favorite, but it’s not a bad thing.

The first sip starts strong and finishes sweet. The grapefruit is pleasantly balanced between sweet and sour like the lime in the margarita before it. The tequila is notable but not harsh, imbuing the cocktail with a healthy amount of agave, though it could be a little more flavorful. There’s even a dry finish; nothing compared to a salted rim, but enough to snap off each sip after it leaves your tongue.

There’s nothing about it that really stands out. It’s just a solid, simple cocktail — bubble water, grapefruit, tequila. It’s dry but crushable. Strong but not overpowering. Clean and crisp. A perfectly cromulent drink.

Ranch Water: C+

There are only two ingredients here, carbonated water and tequila blanco. Not even a squeeze of lime! Well, it smells as boozy as you’d expect. It’s bubbly, light tequila after all.

And, yep, that’s all it is. The tequila is solid enough. It’s tangy and a little sweet. It doesn’t burn despite the ramp up to seven percent ABV. It’s simple and moderately low calorie (120) and totally fine. It’s not my cup of tea, but it’s not a problem either.

I kinda wish I had a lime. But no, no, this is fine. It’s fine.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?

This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Suerte’s canned cocktails over a cold can of Hamm’s?

The margarita for sure. The paloma isn’t too bad either, though it wouldn’t be the first thing I reach for in the fridge. The ranch water wasn’t my style, but it was well made even if I was looking for a bit more flavor.

Komos doesn’t taste like a premium tequila, and that’s a bummer

Komos has gorgeous bottles and a hefty price tag. Can it live up to that standard?

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

You’ve probably seen Komos tequilas before, even if you don’t realize it. They’re the premium-priced Mexican spirit in ceramic bottles that look either like an elongated bell or the Iron Sheik’s old Persian clubs, depending on how old and/or wrestling-infected your brain is.

My press kit didn’t come with those big, beautiful bottles, which makes a lot of sense because shipping $400 of alcohol through the mail is a pretty big risk. But I still wound up with three of Komos’s best sellers — a reposado aged in wine casks, a cristalino that leans into the growing trend of purer, clearer tequilas and an anejo. A quick run through my local Woodman’s suggests the price on these fifths *starts* at a shade over $100, which, hooooo buddy.

Can Komos live up to that price tag? There’s only one way to find out.

Reposado Rosa: C+

Let’s start with the tequila that’s closest to my beloved bourbon. A barrel aged reposado offers a mellower sip thanks to oaky flavors imparted from a few months of barrel-aging. You get a little bit of that from the smell wafting off the pour. It’s buttery, a little fruity and a little spicy. It doesn’t seem especially fancy, but that’s tough to parse from a sniff alone.

The first sip is sweet and fruity. There’s a little burn toward the end. The space between is … kinda hollow. There’s a place there for spice or vanilla or oak or stone fruit and instead you just get a little pale agave and not much else.

The end result is a bit generic. For a spirit aged in French wine casks you don’t get much of that influence. It’s not bad by any means, it’s just not anything you’d remember after the fact. “Have you tried Komos?” “Yes.” “How was it?” “Tequila.”

That’s not a problem, except, well, you probably want more for $130 per bottle. It’s just sorta boring.

Anejo Cristalino: C+

It pours clear as expected. There’s a little patchy stickiness on the side of the glass, It lacks the buttery, fruity smell of the Reposado Rosa. It’s a little boozy but, strangely, doesn’t smell like tequila. Between that and the lack of color, there’s a minor vodka vibe to this. Dig your nose in a little deeper and you get some roasted fruit, which is pleasant.

There’s a sweet and buttery undercurrent that moves this along. It’s a little sugary and sharp, but not harsh. There’s more vanilla here than I expected, especially after the barrel-aged reposado didn’t offer much.

Ultimately, it’s a bit basic. I like it, but there’s little to focus on here. It’s a perfectly fine $40 tequila that’ll cost you $100 per bottle. There’s just not much do it, but it doesn’t burn so … that’s something.

Anejo Reserve: B

This pours a richer shade of mahogany. It smells similar to the other two Komos in that it’s not especially rich or tequila-y.

Fortunately, it breaks from the rest of the pack when it gets to your lips. There’s a fresh, crisp agave flavor that leans into sugar and spice, creating a warm impression that lingers long after it’s cleared your tongue. There’s vanilla weaved into that braid, along with a little cinnamon to give everything more depth than we’d seen before.

That gives it much more sippable replay than the other two. It’s still slightly underwhelming for a $100 bottle, but this is the most justifiable purchase of the three. It’s got dessert flavors that linger throughout each dram, giving you something to think about from the moment it hits your lips to when it clears your uvula.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?

This is a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Komos tequilas over a cold can of Hamm’s?

If they were cheaper, sure. But at $100-plus dollars per bottle, I’m all set.

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Mango Shotta is sweet and spicy and just a little too much

Tequila with mango and jalapeno. What could go wrong?

My experience with tequila as a shot ruined it for me through my formative drinking years. Still, few spirits quite thrive 1.5 ounces at a time like Mexico most famous export. Only bourbon comes close.

Shots are no place for subtlety. As a result, we’ve seen an influx in flavored versions of these liquors. They’re infused with fruits or spices or, somehow, peanut butter or barbeque sauce. This is all an effort to leave a distinct impression once chilled down and slugged in a second or less.

That brought me to Mango Shotta (don’t worry, Chica-Chida peanut butter tequila, your time here is coming soon). The Sazerac-backed liqueur makes sense at face value; a tropical spirit blended with tropical flavors — in this case, tequila with mango and jalapeno peppers.

I’m generally a big fan of sweet and spicy drinks (my local brewery had a very good chocolate habanero stout before the whole place took a turn. I won’t name names, but if you’re in Wisconsin you can probably make a reasonable guess). But there’s a fine line that needs to be walked for the whole thing to work.

Does Mango Shotta balance on that razor’s edge? Or will it be too sweet, too spicy or too messy to stand out? Let’s pour a glass and find out.

Straight up: C

This smells … interesting. I brought it up to my nose and literally said “oooh.” There’s fruit and spice, like a fresh cut jalapeno dropped into concentrated juice. Underneath that spice is more spice, as the agave of the tequila lingers even at 52 proof.

“I gotta be honest, that tastes like my college frat,” the friend I poured a fellow shot for. He’s not wrong. There’s a lot going on here; some creamy mango, then spice. A few different levels that linger long after it clears your lips. It’s a little thick and sticky, which makes it at least a little off-putting.

The aftertaste is syrupy sweet, battling it out with the capsaicin of the pepper inside. It’s a nice idea, but it’s a bit too sloppy for my liking. There’s a lot of “this is what I had on hand to make this bottle of Pepe Lopez more tolerable” in the process.

Maybe a little ice will thin it out and make it better. Let’s see.

On ice: C+

OK, this smells better up front. The spice is a little more muted, which gives off less of a “I’m drinking pepper spray” vibe.

Still, the first sip is more jalapeno than mango. The sweetness lingers, but it’s stuck in a battle with that heat. The good news is you’re not getting any bad tequila burn here. The bad news is you’re getting a different heat and it’s a little weird.

I’m happy to give Mango Shotta credit for its originality. It’s nothing I’ve seen before in the bottle space. But it’s not for me. Too thick, too sticky, too schizophrenic in its execution. It’s not undrinkable, and it might be your jam. But this bottle’s gonna get brought to a tailgate and conveniently forgotten afterward.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?

No thanks. I might do a chilled shot if everyone else is, but without peer pressure I’ll stick to my beer.

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Matthew McConaughey’s Tequila Pantalones is (sigh) alright, alright, alright

It won’t blow you away, but it’s smooth, simple and flavorful for $45 a bottle.

There’s no hotter trend amongst celebrities than creating their own flagship liquor. And in that subset, there’s no spirit hotter than tequila.

Everyone from George Clooney to The Rock to Guy Fieri has thrown their hat in the ring when it comes to baking and distilling agave. This has led to some hits, some misses and what I can only assume are truckloads of money, given the sheer amount of music, movie and other stars in the lineup.

This was too much for Matthew McConaughey to pass up. Admittedly, he didn’t sound entirely jazzed about the product — he’s quoted in the press release accompanying the booze’s debut as saying “the world doesn’t need another celebrity tequila.” But the world didn’t need a Vince Vaughn season of True Detective either and McConaughey had executive producer credits on that, so here we are.

Anyway, Tequila Pantalones, from McConaughey and his wife Camila, is distilled in the same place as Tres Agaves. Does it bring anything new to the table, or is it just a cash grab? Let’s find out.

Pantalones tequila reposado : B

The smell off the top of the pour is sweet and salty. There’s enough agave there to let you know you’re dealing with a tequila, but enough fruit, spice and … a little butter (?) to let you know it’s a decent one.

That sweetness is the first thing that hits your lips. It lingers throughout the sip, making it the headline even after it’s cleared your throat. That brings a certain softness to the whole affair. You’d think that would be to counteract a harsh, boozy burn but, nope. There’s the obvious warmth of an 80 proof spirit, but nothing that would make you wince.

As such, it’s pretty solid as a sipper or a shooter. It’s a mellow reposado that isn’t especially complex but brings elements of the barrel aging that got us here. There’s a little vanilla, some oak and just enough tropical fruit to reward you for sticking with it.

It’s not gonna wow you, but you’ll enjoy each sip. At $45 per bottle, that’s a decent value. Maybe not perfect — I’d like it a lot more at $10 cheaper — but you won’t be disappointed.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?

Yeah, I’d mix in a glass or two before moving on to beer. It’s tasty enough as a sipper or in a cocktail.

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Tequila of the Week: Gran Centenario Cristalino is gorgeous from pour to finish

The bottle? Beautiful. The tequila? Absolutely exploding with rich, gorgeous flavor.

Writing this column has generally been terrible for my liver but wonderful in terms of broadening my boozing horizons. Case in point: I actively avoided tequila before coming to USA Today, thinking it was the one spirit I couldn’t drink owing to the same awful, terrible college tequila experience pretty much all of us have had.

Turns out, nope, I just needed to drink something other than Pepe Lopez.

That’s led to a lot of great sips in an expanding market trying to find a balance between established brands, old school quality and, more and more, celebrity branded bottles. Inside that market is a growing demand for more premium options and, well, an oak-aged, extra filtered variety is an easy sell.

Despite my alcohol credentials, I hadn’t tried a cristalino tequila before a bottle of Gran Centenario arrived for review (blind spot, etc). It’s a filtered style of the classic spirit, dripped through charcoal to create a clear pour without losing the barrel-aged elements that imparted some of that rich wood color in the first place. It all seems a little extra, but the entire tequila marketplace is extra at the moment.

Let’s see if it’s worth the additional effort.

Gran Centenario Cristalino: A

Any review has to start with how gorgeous this bottle is. The dark aqua green glass at the top tapers down to a clear so you can see the colorless spirit inside. The bottle is segmented like a skinny Hibiki whiskey. And it’s heavy. Combined with its length, it feels like something the Iron Sheik would have twirled over his head in the ring to mystify foes.

The tequila smells a bit strong from the pour, hitting you with a boozy upfront scent that gives way to agave, oak and a little pear. Since it was finished in calvados casks, that last part makes sense.

The first sip is light on the tongue but complex as it weaves its way down your throat. There’s a lot to latch on to here. Spice, fruit, vanilla and familiar tequila notes all find a moment to shine in a spirit that finishes warmly but never burns. Cinnamon, pear/apple and a little caramel/baked sugar sweetness all come through.

I keep coming back to this to figure out exactly what’s going on and I get something a little different each time. It goes light, rush of flavors, then warm, sugary spice finish. It looks like a premium tequila and tastes like one. There’s so much going on here, and it’s all great.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?

Yes. I can safely say the $90 bottle of tequila is better than the beer that costs $15 per 30 pack.

Beverage of the Week: Santo vs. Camarena in a cheap-vs.-(slightly)-expensive tequila throwdown

Guy Fieri and Sammy Hagar’s tequila vs. a brand half its price: who’ve you got?

This series wasn’t especially kind to Sammy Hagar two weeks ago. Sure, his Beach Bar rum was a fine mixing spirit, but his branded canned cocktails were a throwback to 2015’s drinking scene — and not in a good way. Fortunately, the high-pitched pitchman gets a chance at redemption with the liquor he does best: tequila.

The man who birthed Cabo Wabo into the world is back in the agave game, teamed with Guy Fieri to bring us Santo — a line of spirits that covers both tequila and a curious blend called “mezquila” (Adam Levine is somehow involved as well, but we don’t talk about America’s Chad Kroeger here, not after that Super Bowl halftime show). I already talked about how much I liked their reposado, but today we’re gonna dig into Santo’s other offerings — and compare them to another fairly new (at least to me) tequila.

Camarena pitches itself as an old school, highly awarded liquor at a bargain price. Where a fifth of Santo reposado clocks in at $46 at my local Total Wine, Camarena only costs $23 for a full liter. I happened to have both on hand and, as a relative tequila neophyte, I decided to stack them up and see who came out ahead.

Let’s do some reviews.

5 best-selling celebrity tequila brands

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Beverage of the Week: A big ol’ margarita throwdown, with Milagro, Santo and Batch & Bottle

There are tons of low-effort margarita mixes and kits out there. I rolled through five of them to see which is worth your while.

I’m coming around on tequila.

The spirit that once induced nausea from a single whiff — thanks, Pepe Lopez! — has turned me back to its side thanks to my slow, ongoing introduction to brands that aren’t best used for stripping varnish off old shipwreck wood. A smattering of canned cocktails slowly began changing my mind. Then, earlier this spring, 818’s premium offering showcased how lush tequila can be.

This is all very good timing; 2023 has been a big year for the spirit. Like peach flavoring, it’s been a focus of the ever-shifting booze landscape as brands launch into their summer fun phase (a departure from the “it’s winter, let’s stay inside and drink” phase that follows). So I’m gonna lean in and roll with the drink that’s the word-association partner of “tequila.”

This week, we’re hitting margaritas in three different, but low effort, forms. Premade in a bottle without tequila, premade in a fancy kit with tequila, and made at home with a ready-to-go mix and a couple solid, mid-tier bottles. How’d they stack up? Let’s find out.

Beverage of the Week: Welp, Kendall Jenner makes the best tequila I’ve ever had

Today in “sentences I never imagined I’d write.” And also “drinks I never thought I’d drink.” Weird day.

I had never heard of 818 Tequila for two reasons. The first is that I’m not a big tequila drinker, leaving me abreast only of the big names — your Cuervos and Patrons and Espolons, mostly. The second is that I am someone’s dad, woefully out of touch with popular culture that doesn’t revolve around various FX/FXX shows and largely unaware of the business ventures of Miss Kendall Jenner.

Jenner, like George Clooney, Dan Aykroyd and Peyton Manning before her, is now in the spirits business. Her brand, 818, was founded in 2021 and quickly gained the kind of cachet that comes with 280 million Instagram followers. The official company account clocks in at 1.1 million, which seems low by comparison but is still five times larger than White Claw’s following.

(There’s a larger debate here about the role of cultural appropriation in the rise of American celebrities adopting traditional Mexican spirits and culture to make money, particularly when it comes to a family as ubiquitous as the Kardashian/Jenner clan. I assure you I am not the right person to talk to about this. I am just here to drink it, but I do understand the concern.)

I was fortunate not only to get some for sampling, but to get a fifth of 818’s ultra-luxe Eight Reserve, which comes in a very nice, unique eight-shaped ceramic bottle that also happens to look like the world’s least convenient vape pen. And since I’m a relative tequila neophyte, I also reached out to 818’s Director of Tequila David Yan Gonzalez to talk me through it (in between our shared concerns over why the Dallas Cowboys aren’t better).

Margarita Recipes: Controversial Variations on the Classic Original

We examine all of the variations on the classic Margarita recipe, explain the issues, and include cocktail-making videos for each point.

The Margarita is arguably the most popular cocktail in the USA. It’s the obvious summer go-to drink, and you’ll find it everywhere: on the menu at dive bars, haute cocktail destinations, Mexican and non-Mexican restaurants. According to Vinepair, it has ranked as the No. 1 most ordered tequila cocktail in the world since 2015 and as the fifth most popular drink worldwide.

But not everyone agrees on the Margarita recipe. Sure, there’s always tequila (except if you use mezcal), lime juice (unless you use lemon and/or other fruits like this guy), and a sweetener (simple syrup, agave nectar, Cointreau, all of the above?).

Below, we identify every controversial ingredient and show you the videos that demonstrate each approach. Armed with this comprehensive background, you will not only know how to make a killer drink this summer, you’ll have a cocktail conversation starter — or ender — anywhere you go.

History and Basic Recipe

First, let’s define terms. We know the margarita was created sometime in the 1930s or 1940s. Unfortunately, there are a half dozen origin stories. Read Difford’s Guide for a thorough analysis of all the claims.

Second, if you believe that a Margarita must always include mango, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, pineapple, cucumber, or watermelon, you are not describing the drink as it is known around the world. Variations are variations.

How Much Sweetness?

The classic 3-2-1 ratio assumes there will be 3 parts tequila, 2 parts orange liqueur (Grand Marnier or Cointreau), and 1 part lime juice. Some folks insist you use triple sec like Cointreau, others suggest you add more sweetness with two teaspoons of superfine sugar or ½ ounce of simple syrup or agave nectar.

Malcolm Reed, of HowtoBBQright, adds less tequila (a shot or 1.25 ounces) and more sweetener (half shot of Cointreau and a half shot of simple syrup) — plus a splash of beer just because.

Ming Tsai uses a 2-1-1 ratio (and no orange liqueur):

2 part tequila
1 part lime juice
1 part simple syrup

Grand Marnier vs Triple Sec vs Cointreau vs Curaçao

Most people agree you need “orange liqueur” in this cocktail. But there are four types of the stuff:

Curaçao is a liqueur flavored with the dried peel of the bitter orange laraha, a citrus fruit grown on the Dutch island of Curaçao.
Triple sec is pretty much the same thing but usually made by many companies of French origin.
Cointreau is just one type of triple sec.
Grand Marnier is one type of Cognac (brandy).

According to Bevvy: “Curaçao is more frequently pot-distilled with brandy, cognac, or sugar cane spirit and has a sweeter quality and a darker coloring. Triple sec is more frequently column-distilled with neutral grain spirit and has a drier quality and a clear appearance.”

If you want a deeper dive, read this article. Grand Marnier will taste sweetest of them all. In the video below, Rob’s Home Bar test drives multiple variations on the margarita using all of the orange-oriented ingredients above.

No Orange Liqueur at All?

In the early 1990s, a bartender named Julio Bermejo invented this version of a margarita at Tommy’s in San Francisco. According to Liquor.com, “Tommy’s version is characterized by its lack of orange liqueur. (Some bartenders argue that eliminating the orange liqueur makes this version not a Margarita. But that is a story for another time.) Rather than using the sweetener to balance the tequila and lime, Bermejo relies solely on agave nectar, made from the same plant that produces tequila. This simple swap creates a cocktail that tastes similar to the original and saves the drinker a few calories. It became emblematic of the lighter, fresher style of eating and drinking that was taking place in California around the end of the twentieth century and still drives much of the culinary and bar scene today.”

Is it ok to omit orange liqueur? Yes, but call it a Tommy’s Margarita.

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Blanco vs Reposado Tequila

The vast majority of bartenders will use a blanco AKA silver AKA white tequila when making a Margarita. They rely on a spirit bottled directly after being distilled — rarely aged. Some purists believe there is a vegetal quality in silver terquila that needs to shine through in the cocktail. Cocktail maven Eben Freeman, on the other hand, described the perfect margarita in a video he made for Epicurious, using reposado tequila that has “mellowed out” just enough to warrant being in his drink.

Mezcal Instead of Tequila?

If you like smokiness as a flavor, you’ll like a mezcal margarita. It adds another layer or two; some people say there’s a funkiness as well. This recipe also adopts the “Tommy’s Margarita” approach: no orange liqueur.

Fresh Lime Juice vs Rose’s Lime Juice?

The concept is simple: Use fresh lime instead of the bottled alternative, Rose’s Lime Juice (patented in 1867). This concentrate includes a sweetener, which some people like, but there are many other (better) ways to add sugar (see sweetener conversation). That said, if you don’t have fresh citrus or need to cut corners (or save time), Rose’s will work.

In the Preppy Kitchen recipe, John Kanell says “Never use the bottled stuff, that’s sacrilegious.”

For the Rim: Table Salt vs Kosher Salt vs Sea Salt

Before you mix the ingredients, you’ll need to prep your area. This includes a plate of salt destined for the rim of the glass — to contrast the lime and sweetness. A few things to note:

Don’t use table salt if possible. It’s too fine, it will mix with the drink too quickly. It will taste too salty.
Do use kosher or sea salt. Bigger flakes, less absorption, better balance.
One last detail: When preparing the glass, moisten around the edges with lime juice. But DO NOT simply press the whole mouth of the glass into a mound of salt because then you will have salt both inside and outside on the rim. Too much salt. Instead, roll the outer edge of the glass in the salt and you will have the proper proportions — outside salt only. And if you’re not sure how the drinker you’re making a margaritafor likes it, add salt only to half the glass.

Watch how Eben does it:

See more beverages.