The weekend is here and it’s time for a drink — a good drink that you can easily make, enjoy, and repeat until Monday dawns yet again. And right now, one tequila cocktail (highball really) is dominating the online conversation… the Batanga.
The Batanga is one of those cocktails that feels new and fresh (because people are just coming to it in 2024) but is actually an old-school classic. The highball is a mix of salt, fresh lime juice, blanco tequila, and Coke. It’s a simple “tequila and Coke” with a little extra oomph to elevate it. You don’t need any special skills to make this one — it couldn’t be more straightforward.
The drink goes back to Tequila, Mexico, and legendary bartender Don Javier Delgado Corona. He came up with the drink back in 1961 for tourists visiting nearby tequila distilleries. The moment that made this drink so special was that when Corona was mixing them up at La Capilla in Tequila he would use his paring knife to mix the drink — the same knife that was used to cut mountains of limes, make pico, and slice avocadoes for decades. This cool moment added that little bit of magic that made a simple drink into an iconic cocktail.
While I too have a paring knife dedicated to cocktails, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t. This drink will still shine either way.
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Batanga
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. blanco tequila
- 0.5 oz. fresh lime juice
- 4 oz. Mexican Coca-Cola
- Salt
- Ice
Two things are crucial here. The first is Mexican Coca-Cola — made, famously, with real cane sugar. Luckily, you should be able to find that at any good grocery store these days. The second is a quality blanco tequila. I’m using the newly minted and organic Pantalones Tequila Blanco Organico from husband and wife team Matthew and Camila McConaughey.
The tequila has a nice velvety vanilla and citrus base that just works with real Coke. It’s a match made in tequila heaven.
What You’ll Need:
- Highball glass
- Paring knife
- Hand juicer
Method:
- Use a sliced lime to wet the rim of the highball glass. Coat the rim in salt.
- Add the ice to the glass. Then add the tequila and fresh lime juice with an extra pinch of salt for good measure.
- Lastly, fill the glass up with the cola and give it a short stir with the paring knife. Serve.
Bottom Line:
Tequila and Coke are a great mix. I’d argue that it’s leaps and bounds better than its overly sweet cousin, the rum and Coke. But that’s just me.
The beauty of this drink is the balance between the lime juice and tequila with the spicy soda. There’s depth that gives you something new on each sip. The salt adds a nice savory counterbalance to all the sweetness and citrus that makes it all the more refreshing sip after sip.
This is a perfect weekend sipper that’s going to have a cornerstone placement in your cocktail/highball rotation going forward. It’s tasty AF, super easy to make, and perfectly balanced.