Ina Garten’s 7 Best Cocktails for Cinco De Mayo
TL;DR:
- Ina Garten Cinco de Mayo cocktails include margaritas, daiquiris, mojitos, etc.
- The Barefoot Contessa puts a twist on the classic drinks with unexpected flavors.
- Ina Garten’s Cinco de Mayo cocktails are designed to be made in big batches.
Ina Garten Cinco de Mayo cocktails range from margaritas to classic daiquiris. The flavors are fruity to spicy. Perhaps best of all, the Food Network star doesn’t like making drinks one at a time. So each Cinco de Mayo recipe makes multiple servings. Plus, some can be prepared ahead.
1. Ina Garten’s Cinco de Mayo Cocktails: Mango banana daiquiris
Don’t like making cocktails one at a time? Then this is the Garten Cinco de Mayo cocktail to make.
“I hate cocktails that have to be made one at a time,” she wrote in her Barefoot Contessa cookbook, Back to Basics. “I make large batches of mango daiquiris in a blender.”
A crucial element to this particular recipe is, according to Garten, ripe mangos. “Be sure you buy them in advance and allow them to ripen,” she said, adding that they’re ripe “when they smell like mango” and “give to the touch.”
2. Classic Daiquiris
To mark the release of Cook Like a Pro, Garten updated her recipe for Classic Daiquiris, showing just how easy they are to make. “What better way to celebrate than to have classic daiquiris, updated from the new book?,” she said in a YouTube video.
With a few simple ingredients — sugar, limes, and rum — and “the largest cocktail shaker you’ve ever seen,” she prepared the daiquiris. Along the way, the Be My Guest star shared a trick to making them. “This is the key that I learned from professional bartenders — shake it for 30 seconds,” she said. “It’s longer than you think.”
3. Watermelon Mojitos
One of Garten’s watermelon recipes, these mojitos are ready in 10 minutes. The cookbook author mashes fresh mint leaves in a mortar and pestle and puts fresh watermelon in a food processor. Finally, she combines the mint leaves and watermelon with rum, lime juice, and simple syrup. Served over ice, Garten’s Cinco de Mayo cocktail is garnished with a watermelon slice.
4. Ina Garten’s Cinco de Mayo cocktails: Real Margaritas
Garten’s Cinco de Mayo cocktails wouldn’t be complete without a margarita. Originally featured in Parties!, Garten’s favorite Barefoot Contessa cookbook, Real Margaritas are her take on the classic. “The keys to this recipe are to use fresh lime juice and inexpensive tequila,” Garten wrote.
5. Jalapeño Margaritas
Garten’s Cinco de Mayo cocktails continue with this Make It Ahead recipe. “I love the contrast of the ice-cold drink with the heat of the jalapeños,” she said. “These are mildly hot but, of course, you can use more peppers and make them even hotter!” Prepare them in advance and let them sit overnight. But, as Garten noted, any longer and they’ll be too spicy.
6. Ina Garten Cinco de Mayo cocktails: Pink Grapefruit Margaritas
Garten described these margaritas as a summer cocktail in her How Easy Is That? cookbook. However, they have all the flavors that would be a welcome addition to any Cinco de Mayo celebration. Plus, Garten herself suggested serving them with chips and guacamole.
In the summer, I’m always looking for a refreshing cocktail to serve at parties — something traditional but with a nice twist,” she said. “I played around with pink grapefruit juice and came up with a margarita that hit all the right notes — salty, sweet, and tart. A big bowl of chips and some guacamole wouldn’t hurt, either.”
7. Frozen Palomas
The same is true for yet another one of Garten’s Cinco de Mayo Cocktails. She listed her Frozen Palomas as a Super Bowl drink. Although that doesn’t mean they’d make a great addition to a Cinco de Mayo menu. Once again, they’re the perfect companion to chips and guacamole.
Garten called them “refreshing and cool” alongside “salty snacks” on her Barefoot Contessa website. She added that they’re “citrusy and delicious.” Additionally, “you can make big pitchers of them” and “store them in the freezer.”
