Make your Cinco de Mayo fiesta even more fun by setting up your own DIY bar for guests to make their own drinks. TV personality and cookbook author Ingrid Hoffmann shares her favorite Mexican-inspired cocktail recipes — including tequila-spiked sangria, a paloma and a hibiscus mocktail — and shares her tips for building an easy and impressive do-it-yourself bar for your soiree. All you need is a few spirits, sweeteners, rimming salts and sugars, mixers, garnishes and basic barware.
To set up your DIY cocktail bar you'll need:
Alcohol: Vodka, tequila, mezcal and beer
Sweeteners: Plain and mint simple syrup
Rimming salts and sugars (served on small flat plate): Sugar with chile powder, salt with chile powder and coarse salt
Garnishes: Lime wedges, lemon and orange slices, jalapeño slices, mint and rosemary sprigs, raspberries and olives
Mixers: Lime juice, guava juice, tamarind juice, mango juice, grapefruit juice, ginger ale, lemon-lime soda and club soda (hint: label everything)
Barware: Ice bucket, cocktail shaker, cocktail skewers, small spoons, old fashioned glasses, cocktail napkins, a muddler, jiggers and stirrers
I like the Paloma cocktail because it is very refreshing without being overly sweet. I add my own twist to it with a little orange liqueur that adds another layer of flavor and gives it more depth.
This Latin twist on the famous Moscow Mule gets a tart and mildly sweet spin from tamarind.
The classic Mexican michelada is a drink that gives beer an kick of extra flavor. I like to play with it and add my own twists to it like adding shot of tequila or tomato juice. It's an easy drink that's festive and inexpensive.
This mocktail is a typical agua fresca in Mexico made from hibiscus flowers. I added my twist with a bit ginger because it is delicious combo.
When you marry a Mexican tequila sunrise cocktail and a Spanish sangria pitcher, you get the best of both worlds.
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