Name: Mexican Cantaritos Tequila Cocktail
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 oz Tequila; 1 oz Orange Juice; 1 oz Grapefruit Juice; 0.5 oz Lime Juice; 4 oz Jarritos Grapefruit Soda; Kosher Salt (rim); Lime Wheel (garnish)

Cantaritos are Mexican tequila cocktails traditionally served in clay cups rimmed with salt like a margarita

Similar to the Paloma, authentic Cantaritos Mexicanos recipes feature grapefruit soda and fresh citrus juice.

Make our easy Cantaritos recipe at home featuring your favourite tequila, Jarritos grapefruit soda, and freshly squeezed orange, lime and grapefruit juice.

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What Is A Cantaritos Cocktail?

Love a delicious Margarita or Paloma? Here’s a new Mexican cocktail that you’ll love: the Cantarito!

The thirst-quenching tequila drink is similar to a Paloma, but features more citrus juices like orange, lime and fresh grapefruit juice. It’s basically the perfect boozy punch!

The cocktail gets its name from the vessel it’s served out of at bars, cafes and roadside stalls in Jalisco, Mexico. While we like to serve the Mexican tequila drink in a classic Cantarito clay pot, you can also serve it in a rocks glass or Collins glass.

What’s The Difference Between Cantarito vs Paloma?

A Paloma mixes tequila, grapefruit soda and lime juice. The Cantarito uses the same ingredients but adds orange juice and grapefruit juice for an even more citrus-forward boozy punch.

A traditional Cantaritos drink features Mexican grapefruit soda, tequila, orange juice, grapefruit juice and lime juice.

Travel To Mexico to Sip Tequila Cocktails

There’s no better way to familiarize yourself with Cantaritos then by planning a vacation to visit the world’s best tequila distilleries.

As cocktail enthusiasts we’ve traveled the world to visit the best tequila, gin, whiskey and rum distilleries.

We love traveling to Mexico. We’ve sipped tequila muddled cocktails in Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Mexico City, Merida, Chichen Itza and Playa del Carmen.

The bar at Four Seasons Mexico City is ranked as one of the best cocktail bars in the country. The creative mixologists behind the Four Seasons bar make classic cocktails, eye-popping modern marvels and refreshing drinks like Cantaritos Mexicanos.

If you want to learn first hand how tequila is made we suggest planning a trip to Jalisco. All tequila is produced in this state, while other agave-based distilled spirits made outside the region are called mezcal.

We suggest booking a Patron Distillery Tour in Jalisco. The gorgeous property appears like a Mexican mansion featuring outdoor fountains, state-of-the-art production facility and enchanting barrel aging room. You’ll see how the head distiller receives agave plants after harvest and makes premium tequila in copper stills.

At the end of the tour you’ll enjoy a tutored tequila tasting and opportunity to sip Cantaritos at the bar.

What Are Cantarito Cups?

Cantarito cups are the traditional clay mugs (jarritos de barro) used for drinking tequila in the state of Jalisco. They’re great for sipping tequila straight or other Mexican drinks like Cantaritos or Micheladas.

Why drink out of traditional Cantarito clay cups?

Clay cups keep Cantaritos cold. A traditional glass becomes warm in your hands, but clay Cantarito cups help to keep the drink extra cold on a hot day.
Mouthfeel of clay cups adds to the experience. The sensation of the chilled clay at the beginning of each sip is much like drinking a Moscow Mule out of a chilled copper mug. It just tastes better!
Where to find Cantarito cups? Buy them from a cocktail supply store, restaurant supply store, Mexican market or on Amazon.
How to prepare Cantaritos cups? Soak the clay mugs in cold water for 10 minutes before making the drink.

You can serve Cantaritos in a rocks glass or clay cup.

Cantaritos Mexicanos Ingredients

Our tasty Cantaritos recipe is easy to make at home for just one person or at a party as a punch poured out of a jug.

Tequila: we suggest using Patron or 1800 Anejo Tequila.
Grapefruit Soda: we like using Mexican Jarritos but Squirt, Ting, Q Mixers, Fever-Tree or sparkling Italian grapefruit soda works.
Citrus Juice: only use freshly squeezed orange, lime or grapefruit juice!
Kosher Salt: rim the glass with salt after swiping with a lime wedge.

We like seving Cantaritos with a salt rim like a margarita.

Cantaritos Tequila Recipe Tips

This authentic Cantaritos recipe is easy to make at home, ready to serve in under 5 minutes!

We love serving this tequila cocktail on a hot summer day or as a signature drink at a Mexican dinner party. Since the drink incorporates freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juice, it’s also a delightful brunch cocktail.

We’ve used tequila in this recipe but you can substitue with Mezcal if you’d like a smokier flavour.

Our Cantarito recipe serves one person. If you’re hosting a large gathering feel free to multiply the ingredients by the number of guests and muddle the drink in a punch bowl or jug.

Depending on your preference, you can stir or shake the ingredients. Just ensure the liquid is ice cold, and that you strain the ice when pouring into the cocktail glasses.

If you find the drink is too strong, feel free to add more citrus juice or a splash of soda water to make it more refreshing.

Cantaritos Mexicanos is our favourite citrus tequila punch recipe.

Best Bartender Tools & Cocktail Equipment

Before hosting a fun Cantaritos Mexicanos Cocktail soiree you’ll need to ensure you have the best bartender tools and cocktail equipment.

Cocktail Kit: cocktail kits are the perfect gift for newbie mixology fans as they include basic bartender tools like a jigger, shaker and spoon.
Cocktail Shaker: a bartender’s best friend. Purchase a premium cocktail shaker to muddle or shake up your favourite pink gin cocktails.
Cocktail Glassware: make sure your bar is stocked with a selection of unique glassware to show off your favourite cocktail creations.
Hawthorne Strainer: this unique strainer features tightly wound coils and perforated holes. It keeps ice and other large ingredients like lime wedges in your cocktail shaker rather than in the glass.
Bar Spoons: slender and long bar spoons are a must-have when stirring drinks.
Bottle Opener: easily open bottles of beer or cider with the flick of your wrist or purchase a corkscrew for fine wine.
Pouring Spout: once you’ve opened a new bottle of gin insert these affordable pourers to make cocktail assembly a breeze.
Cutting Board: purchase a petite cutting board for your bar to slice garnishes or citrus wedges like lime, orange, lemon or grapefruit.
Ice Bucket: chill bottles of gin quickly in an ice bucket or keep by the bar when muddling gin mixers into cool creations.
Ice Crusher: fans of the Mint Julep love an ice crusher.
Ice Cube Kit: we suggest purchasing a selection of ice cube trays. Silicone styles are our favourite as they’re easy to clean and are available in various shapes and sizes.
Jigger: use a jigger to accurately measure spirits, juices, syrups and shrubs.
Juicer: invest in an electronic juicer or buy an affordable hand-held to easily juice fresh citrus like lemons and limes.
Muddler: fans of the Mojito love a sturdy muddler to mix mint and lime. Muddler’s are handy for any cocktail featuring ingredients that need a pounding like fresh herbs or citrus wedges.
Citrus Peeler & Zester: adorn your craft cocktails with a thick citrus peel or finer ribbons of lime or lemon zest.
Rimmer: Bloody Mary and Caesar lovers should outfit their bar with a handy rimmer for salting and sugaring glassware.

We love serving Cantaritos on a hot day or as a cocktail at a Mexican dinner party.

Best Tequila For Cantaritos

We recommend sipping a variety of tequila brands in order to find your favourite. Each tequila brand has a unique method for harvesting agave, distilling and aging & barreling the final product.

Here are the world’s top selling tequila brands worthy of being muddled into homemade Cantaritos:

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