Spindrift paloma and Ranch Water: My favorite Tequila Cocktail Recipes

I went to Austin a few months ago and was introduced to Texas Ranch Water. I had no idea what it was, but it turns out it’s the perfect summer drink: tequila, topo chico, and lime makes for a refreshing and light “tequila soda”, but even better. My journey with alcohol this year has been an interesting one.

In January of this year, I decided to cut out all alcohol for the month. I was pleasantly surprised by how good I felt, wine doesn't leave me feeling great the next day, but I was also starting to feel left out of social situations once February 1 rolled around.

If you're not a drinker, that's fantastic, and there's plenty of research that suggests it's honestly probably better for you. However, if you do want to partake occasionally, I've found that a "Texas ranch water" or a spindrift paloma usually does just the trick. For whatever reason, many tolerate tequila better than other alcohols (even vodka), and so your recovery won't be nearly as challenging the next day. While vodka also works (it’s clear and low carb making it generally easier on the body), I generally think that the ranch water and spindrift paloma is better than the lo cal vodka seltzer.

Espolon is a good tequila! I also like milagro, they’re mid-tier price point wise and pretty tasty if I do say so myself.

The work I did with my nutritionist was interesting. She said most people tolerate tequila better than most alcohols and I’ve found I don’t get hungover when I drink it. There’s really nothing worse thank waking up with a headache after imbibing.

I did research and wasn’t able to get any solid science behind why this is, but from what I could find, 100% agave tequila (so it has to be decent quality, not expensive but you know what’s going into it) has a very low sugar content. Low sugar means better hangovers. I actually prefer drinking the “reposado” type of tequila (slightly aged and a more yellow/gold hue) versus the blanco or “un-aged”. Most of the time in the stores you can find the reposado next to the blanco. The reposado has a bit more color and I find has a really nice flavor (the flavor is not as strong as the color would imply).

As for why I like Spindrifts, they are flavored with fruit juice only and are made with simple ingredients. I like to cut out preservatives or “natural flavors” from my diet, and it’s helped a lot (check out my Whole30 exploration here)

I’m really someone who prefers easy recipes (as my mother says, “take the path of least resistance”), so when it comes to my cocktails I like SIMPLE.

Here are the recipes for Spindrift Paloma and Texas Ranch Water

This texas ranch water has 3 simple ingredients:

- tequila
- mineral water (traditionally topo chico, but any unflavored seltzer will do)
- lime juice to taste.

light and refreshing ranch water-you can make it light on the tequila too if you need!

A Spindrift paloma is even easier:

- Spindrift (I like lime for margs and grapefruit for paloma)
- tequila!

I promise, it’s really that easy!

Spindrift Paloma or margarita made with 2 ingredients is so easy it should be criminal.