Our Favorite Backyard BBQ Cocktail: Ranch Water

This one’s simple and perfect. It’s what we like to drink when BBQing in the backyard. It’s our go-to for hosting guests, staying hydrated, and grilling meat all at the same time. Your guests will never know what number you’re on, and neither will you! Unless, of course, you’re one of those brave souls who keeps track of their drinks by counting the number of lime peels floating at the bottom of your mason jar.

Ranch Water Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients

2 oz your favorite tequila
Soda water—some fancy folk even use mineral water.
½ lime
Lime peel for garnish

Steps

This one’s super easy. Grab yourself a mid-sized mason jar or whatever unpretentious glass you have at home.
Fill said glass with ice and squeeze half a lime in.
Pour in a shot, or two, of your favorite tequila. Some go reposado for the flavor, we go with blanco for the ease at which it disappears.
Fill up the remainder of your glass with seltzer.
Wander your ranch and shoot cactus with your sidearm as you enjoy your refreshing cocktail.

What’s the difference between Soda and Seltzer?

Confused? Us too. Soda water is a generic name that can either refer to seltzer or sparkling water. Seltzer is made by adding carbon dioxide to regular water. Sparkling water is natural spring water that is bottled.

Want to be confused more? Mineral water comes from an underground water source and has no naturally occurring bubbles; they can, however, be added. Sparkling water may come from any source and has been infused with carbon dioxide. So, mineral water can be sparkling water, but not all sparkling water is mineral water.

We’re not sure if mineral water can fall under Soda, but it’s definitely not seltzer. Right? We don’t know. Time for a Ranch Water.

Click here for more low calorie Tequila options.