Category: Texas

Here’s a simple cocktail that’s bubbly, zingy and perfect for summer: ranch water! It’s the unofficial drink of West Texas, a tequila highball made with lime juice and sparkling Topo Chico.

One of our dearest friends, a native Texan, suggested we try out this “new” drink a few years ago, and after one sip, we were sold. Now it’s taken the country by storm and vaulted into popularity as one of the top summer drinks! It’s like a bubbly, lighter spin on the margarita, with all the tangy citrus but less sweetness and booze. It’s laid back and carefree, perfect for patio sipping. Come make it with us!

Ingredients in ranch water

Ranch water is a tequila highball cocktail that hails from West Texas. No one knows exactly how it came to be, or even how it got the name. Some people say a Texas rancher invented it in the 1960’s, but there’s no documentation of how it came to be.

It was a word-of-mouth drink until around 2010, when bartenders in Texas started adding it to their menus. The ingredients you’ll need for ranch water are:

• Tequila: Use tequila blanco has a clean and crisp flavor that’s a good match for the bubbles and citrus. We also like it with tequila reposado, for a more complex sip with subtle notes of vanilla and oak.
• Lime juice: Always use fresh limes in a cocktail: the flavor of bottled juice is no comparison.
• Topo Chico mineral water or other sparkling water: Die-hard fans of this drink claim that it’s not ranch water unless it’s made with Topo Chico, the Mexican mineral water brand sold in distinctive bottles. You can make it with other brands of sparkling water, but Topo Chico seals the deal for us.

How to make ranch water: step by step

There’s no exact science behind ranch water! Because it was a word-of-mouth cocktail for so long, it’s more about vibe than precise quantities. You can use as much lime, tequila, and soda water as you’d like, but this is the formula we feel packs the right zingy, bubbly punch. Here’s how to make ranch water:

• Step 1: Place 3 oz tequila in a glass (2 shots).
• Step 2: Stir in 1 ½ oz fresh lime juice (the juice of about 1 medium lime).
• Step 3: Add ice and pour in 4 ounces Topo Chico (½ cup).