Ah, June 24, a day for celebrating life’s most capricious and unpredictable alcohol: tequila. True tequila aficionados will tell you—over and over again—how tequila is for sipping, not for shooting. Well, in cocktail form, you can do whatever you please. Check out some of our favorite tequila drinks from around the city. 

Sour Nutty

Bar.Yard is known for its views and its booze. Found at the plush Kimpton Maa-Lai, it’s a tiki-adjacent experience on the 40th floor above Bangkok. A must-have for the tequila lover is the Sour Nutty (B440), mixing Jose Cuervo tequila, Alipus San Baltazar mezcal, pistachio cream liqueur, agave syrup, and lemon juice. Sidle up to the bar or grab a seat and enjoy the view. 

Lily Fu’s Mango Margarita

Lily Fu’s has been a breath of fresh air for the Soi 11 club crowd hoping to get some classy bites and drinks in before making regrettable decisions at Sugar and Juicy. Well, it’s hard to go wrong with the Mango Margarita (B250). It’s a simple mix of tequila, mango puree, and lime. Or, if you want to be a philistine on sacred tequila day, you can have it made with rum. 

Agave Avenger

Found at the hottest brunch spot on Rama 1, Chim Chim, this design-forward eatery comes attached to Siam@Siam and is a must-try for lunch, brunch, and for a few late night drinks. One of those drinks should be the Agave Avenger (B280), a swirl of  Blanco tequila, grapefruit juice, soda water, pink salt, and peppercorns. Sure, it’s a little tart, but you can hack it. 

Spicy Ritas

You may remember Tortilla Quemada as the taco shop that recently opened up a dispensary next door. Well, they’ve also got the spiciest margaritas in town—really spicy, spicy in a way that should probably be illegal. You can "choose your pain" starting with jalapeños and work your way all the way up to the ghost pepper—for the truly masochistic. The spicy margaritas here start at B260 a glass and B1,200 baht a pitcher. Yes, that’s right, you can order an entire pitcher of ghost pepper margaritas. May god have mercy on your soul. 

Yellow Potion

You know Something Wicked takes its voodoo theme really seriously. In fact, you don’t get cocktails here, you get potions, and this potion, the Yellow Potion (B220), is a sharp mix of tequila, yellow chartreuse, capsicum, lemon, syrup, smoked salt, and chili oil garnish. Enjoy it on the porch with the faux frog noises. 

Pickle Guava Basil 

Thaipioka is on every hi-so barhopper’s Thonglor list. It’s not a cheap place to get tipsy, but it’s definitely worth a stop for the Pickle Guava Basil (B380), which takes tequila in a whole new direction, featuring Reposado, pickled guava, fresh basil, lemon, and celery bitters.

Lemon Tart  

Revolucion Cocktail takes their drinks seriously, and the Lemon Tart (382) is no exception, a mix of Olmeca tequila, lemon tart ganache, lemon juice, and lemon tart foam. You might have noticed a lot of lemon ingredients there, and you should know that this drink does what it says in the title. 

Umami Passion Fruit Margarita 

You can’t say you’re a veteran to Bangkok’s nightlife scene without knowing who Kei Sawada is. You might have heard of—or tried—his creative spins during his days at Japanese sake showroom Salon Du Japonisant. Now, teamed up with Latvian chef Aleksandrs “Alex” Nasikailovs, Kei is blending his creativity with science at the White House Bangkok. Try the Umami Passion Fruit Margarita (B390), a mixture of katsuobushi (dried bonito fish) infusion, tequila blanco with French orange liqueur Cointreau, and passion fruit puree topped with lemon juice, egg white, and miso-and-shoyu powder.  

Santiaga Margarita 

Fans of La Monita know how serious Billy Bautista takes tequila, so you can forget about those sweetened nectarine syrup-driven drinks. Head upstairs from Billy’s Smokehouse, to meet his latest Mexican omakase project, Santiaga. Order the Santiaga Margarita (B395), featuring the aromatic Casa Noble tequila with lime juice. This place also offers a free shot of Patron Silver when dining with his course experience from Jul 22-24.

Paloma Boost

From bartender Francesco Moretti at Jaqueline above Quince comes the Paloma Boost. It’s Jose Cuervo, carrot juice, 400 Conejos Mezcal, grapefruit, mango sticky rice syrup, and homemade passion fruit soda. This drink has an earthy, fresh taste to it, a tropical twist that relies on the savory.

Alien Kiss

Inspired by the 1979 movie Alien, think of the greenish-blue facehugger on yellow like the movie poster. This drink is exactly that. The greenish-blue is from tequila blanco mixed with spirulina seaweed for the color, and the sticky goodness at the bottom of the glass represents the alien’s acid saliva just like in the movie (it's limoncello). Grab it at Cinema Club.

Pop the Bubble

A "fun bubble" is an Instagram favorite. This cocktail can be found at the swank, jazzy Firefly on the ground floor of the Sindhorn Kempinski. It's not just good to look at; this is Ocho Blanco, kaffir lime, mango passion kaffir, Siplin tamarind, peach, grapefruit bitters, and the delightful smokiness added by the bubble.