The 3-Ingredient Cocktail Made For Mexican Coke Lovers

When you think of tequila cocktails there are a few definitive drinks that are likely to come to mind. There's the tequila sunrise, the drink rockstar Mick Jagger helped popularize. And of course there's the classic margarita — it's hard to go wrong with tequila, lime juice, Cointreau, agave syrup, and a salted rim. But there's another, even simpler tequila cocktail that borrows from the margarita's arsenal for a drink that's made for lovers of Mexican Coca-Cola. It's called a batanga and it has quickly become a trendy drink thanks to TikTok and other social media sites. But it actually has a history dating back to the 1960s in the birthplace of tequila. 

It's as delicious as it is simple. It combines blanco tequila, fresh-squeezed lime juice, and Coca-Cola, preferably the kind exported from Mexico, which is made with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup. It's served in a salt-rimmed collins glass. The reason it works so well is the caramel flavors in the cola meld well with the agave sweetness and pepper notes of the tequila, with the salt helping to cut the Coke's sugariness. It all makes for the perfect summer drink. 

Don Javier Delgado Corona, owner of the tavern La Capilla in Tequila, Mexico, invented the drink in 1961 or possibly earlier. Delgado was born and raised in Tequila, in the Mexican state of Jalisco. The region began producing alcohol from blue Weber agave at least as far back as the 17th century, and the city of Tequila gave its name to this spirit. Delgado died in February 2020 at 96 after having been behind the bar for more than 60 years.

He made the original batanga by rimming a tall glass with salt, squeezing the juice of ½ of a large lime into it, adding a good bit of ice, filling the glass about halfway with blanco tequila (some sources specify Altos Plata tequila), and topping off the glass with Mexican Coke. Delgado's secret was to then stir the drink with the same knife he used to cut the lime. 

Today, a number of variations abound. There are some recipes that don't specify the type of cola — or even suggest Pepsi. Others call for less tequila and/or more lime juice. Some suggest sprinkling a pinch of salt directly into the glass, using only key limes, or rimming the glass with a salt and citrus zest combo. But if you want to stay true to the original, follow the above directions and be sure to use Mexican Coke and stir the drink with a knife.