Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Anyone who knows me will tell you that Cinco de Mayo is one of my favorite holidays. Since my freshman year of college, it’s been a day filled with lots of margaritas, Mexican food, tequila shots, and probably some questionable decisions. This will be my first year celebrating Cinco de Mayo alcohol free (side note: I was not drinking at this time last year, but far too sick to care about this holiday), so I really wanted to do this blog post to show everyone, including myself, that a Sober Cinco can still be equally fun and celebratory.
If I had unlimited money and resources, I would have bought every margarita mix on the market to give you a true comparison (maybe next year), but for now, these will have to do. Zing Zang is the margarita mix that I typically use because it’s a trusted brand and they sell their margarita mix in cans (so I don’t have to store a HUGE bottle of margarita mix in my already overcrowded fridge). Tres Agaves was my margarita mix of choice, when I was drinking, so I figured I had to include it. Last but not least, I have included Fever-Tree margarita mix because I love all of their tonics and had no idea they made margarita mix until I saw it, so naturally, I had to buy it (this is clearly my rationale for a lot of things).
Disclaimer: It’s worth noting that we tried these without mixing them with anything, so some may still be better than others with tequila.
My boyfriend, Matthew and I, each did a blind taste test of these three mixes. We both ranked the mixes as follows:
Margarita Mix Rankings
Fever-Tree: Classic Margarita Mix
Zing Zang: Margarita Mix
Tres Agaves: Classic Lime Margarita Mix
Fever-Tree’s mix is the least sweet with the tartness of the lime balancing out the agave. On the other end of the spectrum, Tres Agaves is overly sweet and almost hard to drink alone. It’s also much lighter in color than the other mixes and smells substantially fruitier. Matt’s first reaction was that it “tastes like lemonade.” I was pretty shocked to see that I ranked my former favorite margarita mix last, but I think, because this mix is so sweet, that it mixes very well with tequila (especially if you like very strong margaritas ~ read into that as you will). Zing Zang has the classic sweet and sour flavor that you would expect from margarita mix, without being too heavy in either direction.
Now for the tequila tasting! Fortunately, there are not as many alcohol free tequilas on the market as margarita mixes, so I was able to try a decent amount. Matthew and I tried each of the tequilas on the rocks to do a true comparison; however, I don’t think all of them were designed to be drunk this way.
NA Tequila Rankings
Almave Ámbar (Duh ~ please see 5/2 blog post)
Seedlip: Notas de Agave
Free Spirits: The Spirit of Tequila
Ritual Zero Proof: Tequila (not pictured)
Spiritless: Jalisco 55
NKD LDY Tequila Alternative
The Almave Ámbar and Notas de Agave are the best on their own because of the sweetness from the agave. Neither seems to have much of the ‘burn’ that other brands are trying to mimic. Spirit of Tequila has a very unique smell because of the spice being used to mimic the burning effect (it actually makes me sneeze or cough if I inhale too much of it lol). It’s pleasant at first sip, then the spice hits as an after burn. I use it very often in mixed drinks (and love the boost from the B vitamins), but I wouldn’t recommend drinking it on its own. Ritual’s Tequila Alternative has a very similar taste and I like it in mixed drinks. Jalisco 55 tastes very real to me, in that it is not very pleasant to drink on its own (neither is alcohol). It smells sweet with notes of caramel, but the flavor is interesting. It does have an aftertaste that reminds me of alcohol. So while it is low in these rankings, if you’re looking for an accurate tequila replacement in a mixed drink, I would definitely choose this one. Lastly, NKD LDY’s Tequila Alternative… TBH this is one of the first NA spirits I bought, and after trying all of these, I’ll probably toss it.
I want to finish with this post with some recipes on how to use all these ingredients. If you do try them at home, please let me know what you think! Thank you to everyone who read my longest blog post yet! I really wanted this post to have a little something for everyone, drinkers and non-drinkers. To the drinkers, I hope you found the review on margarita mixes helpful, and if you want to branch out and try some non-alcoholic tequila, use this list! To my fellow non-drinkers, I hope this post showed you that Sober Cinco can be just as fun! Have a great Cinco de Mayo, everyone!!
Classic Margarita - My take on the easy, no frills margarita.
1.5 oz Fever Tree Margarita Mix
1 oz Free Spirits: Spirit of Tequila
.5 oz lime juice
A few drops of triple sec alcohol-free liquor
Serve over ice with or without a salted rim.
Cadillac Margarita - My take on the traditionally stronger and more high-end margarita.
1 oz Spiritless: Jalisco 55
2 oz Tres Agaves Classic Lime Margarita Mix
.5 oz lime juice
1.5 oz sparkling water (I use lime-flavored)
A few drops of agave syrup
Serve over ice with or without a salted rim.
Margarita Spritz - A lighter margarita.
1 oz Seedlip: Notas de Agave
1.5 oz Zing Zang Margarita Mix
.5 oz lime juice
5 oz sparkling water (I use lime-flavored)
Serve over ice in a wine glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Skinny Margarita - The low calorie option.
1 oz Seedlip: Notas de Agave
.5 oz lime juice
.5 oz lemon juice
.5 oz triple sec alcohol-free liquor
3 oz sparkling water (I use lime-flavored)
Dash of cayenne pepper
Serve over ice. Garnish with a lime wedge.