Ranch Water
Tequila, lime, and sparkling water, with agave optional. The light, clean, low-sugar highball for a long afternoon at the fire.
Ranch Water is a West Texas classic, just tequila, lime, and sparkling mineral water, and it is the cleanest, lowest-sugar way to drink through a long afternoon at the fire. It is barely a cocktail and that is the appeal: light, dry, and endlessly refillable.
The name fits the cut. Tri tip comes out of the rancho-and-vaquero tradition, and a clean ranch highball belongs on that table. Keep it dry by default and set agave on the side, so one drink covers both the people who like a little sweetness and the people who do not.
Ingredients
- 2 oz blanco tequila
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- Sparkling mineral water, to top
- Agave syrup, optional, to taste
- Lime wedge and ice, to serve
Instructions
- 1
Fill a tall glass with ice, add the tequila and lime juice.
Fresh lime only. Ranch Water has nowhere to hide, so the lime has to be real.
- 2
Top with sparkling mineral water and stir once.
A good mineral water matters here since it is most of the drink.
- 3
Leave it dry, or add a small pour of agave for anyone who wants a touch of sweetness.
Sweetness optional, by the glass: a bar of agave on the side lets the sweet-tooth crowd dose it and the no-sugar crowd skip it.