Now I don’t know if it’s because I am a former Spanish teacher or because in the United States, we love a good celebration of cinco de mayo, but I always enjoy creating delicious food and bubbly cocktails perfect for any cinco de mayo party.
We have had a lot of fun over the years creating different themed menus to celebrate any of the Mexican holidays. You can find an epic Mexican “Charcuterie Board” here and, of course, the start of us bubbly-izing classic cocktails here with the margarita, paloma and my famous bubbly red sangria recipe here.
Celebration of Mexico
I loved teaching about cinco de mayo when I was in the classroom because many misunderstood what we were celebrating on the fifth of May and there was a whole section in our book about the city of Puebla and President Benito Juárez.
Many believe cinco de mayo to be a celebration of Mexican Independence Day, but that Mexico’s Independence Day (día de la independencia) is actually September 16th. And while Mexico’s Independence Day is a National holiday and Federal holiday, cinco de mayo is neither.
While cinco de mayo is not a celebration of Mexican Independence Day, it is a celebration of their victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on the May 5th, 1862. It’s a celebration of the Mexican Army who honestly prevailed in this unlikely victory over the french troops.
This celebration of Mexican culture is often enjoyed with Mexican food, live entertainment most often with mariachi music, and of course, happy hour with delicious cocktails.
In the United States, you will find cinco de mayo festivities in many big cities like Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Antonio. And in Washington D.C., you can even attend chihuahua races.
The best places to to enjoy traditional foods, local bands and celebrate the Mexican Heritage are at local restaurants. A quick Google or Instagram search will be sure to tell you where you can enjoy an authentic celebration for this year’s cinco de mayo.
The tequila will definitely be flowing and you can even enjoy tequila flights and margarita flights at some of the holiday celebrations, we created four new bubbly margaritas that you can pair with delicious tacos like street tacos, carne asada, specialty nachos….truly any of the Mexican dishes that you’re putting on your menu. Including our favorite Mexican Dip that we’ve shared a bunch.
Cinco de mayo Party Cocktails
My most favorite tequila based cocktail is a Paloma. And you know, we have already bubbly-ized a paloma a few times, in fact. And if I am not drinking a paloma to celebrate the Mexican-American culture, I am enjoying a margarita, bubbly-ized, of course.
Bubbly Limoncello Margarita
This first margarita has my current obsession, limoncello in it and honestly, we all thought it was better than a traditional margarita even though it tasted quite similar. And it’s so easy to make, you’re going to love it.
- 1 1/2 oz Tequila
- 1 oz Limoncello
- 1 oz Limeade or Lime Juice
- 1/4 oz Agave (optional)
- Bubbly
- Garnish: Lemon wedge
- In a cocktail shaker with ice, add all ingredients.
- Pour into your favorite margarita glass or champagne coupe.
- Top with bubbly.
TIPS:
- If you like your drinks a little bit sweeter, add the 1/4 oz of agave. It adds the perfect touch of sweetness.
- If you don’t have limeade (we LOVE the Trader Joe’s limeade for these drinks), fresh lime juice will work just as well. And you know, we always keep bottled lime juice in the fridge as well for those bubbly cocktail emergencies.
This next margarita shocked us! Not only did the ingredient list sound strange to me (I don’t even know where I first saw the idea…I imagine Instagram), but I wasn’t sure how it would taste. And we all really enjoyed it.
Bubbly Amaretto Blood Orange Margarita
- 1 1/2 oz Tequila
- 1 oz Amaretto
- 2 oz Blood Orange Juice
- 1 oz Limeade or Lime Juice
- Bubbly
- In a cocktail shaker with ice, add all ingredients.
- Pour into your favorite margarita glass or champagne coupe.
- Top with bubbly.
- Garnish with a blood orange slice.
Now this next margarita we made two different ways and truly couldn’t decide which one we liked better. Either way, it’s going to be perfect all summer long because it’s so refreshing.
Sparkling Lemonade Margarita
- 3 oz Trader Joe’s Sparkling Pink Lemonade OR Fever Tree Sparkling Sicilian Lemonade
- 1 1/2 oz Tequila
- 1/2 oz Triple Sec
- 1/2 oz Limeade
- Bubbly
- Garnish: Lemon slice
- In a mixing glass with ice, add all of the ingredients except the bubbly.
- Stir well to combine and chill.
- Pour into your favorite margarita glass or champagne coupe.
- Top with bubbly.
TIPS:
- If you can’t find sparkling lemonade, regular lemonade will work just fine. And if you’re using regular lemonade, you can put the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. If you put any bubbly liquid in a cocktail shaker, you will be cleaning up a mess (not that we know that from experience or anything).
- We used a sparkling rosé for the pink lemonade version of this and the 90 Plus Cellars Prosecco for the Sparkling Sicilian Lemonade. My only regret is that I didn’t try the sparkling rosé with the Sparkling Sicilian Lemonade because that would be delicious.
This last margarita we wanted to LOVE because it’s so pretty and it was enjoyable, but not a favorite of the evening.
Bubbly Dragon Fruit Margarita
- 1 1/2 oz Tequila
- 1 oz Dragon Fruit Puree
- 1 oz Pineapple Juice
- 1 oz Limeade or Lime Juice
- In a cocktail shaker with ice, add all ingredients.
- Pour into your favorite margarita glass or champagne coupe.
- Top with bubbly.
- TIPS:
If you can find the frozen dragon fruit chunks, that would be fun to try and muddle into the drink. - If you like your drinks on the sweeter size, add 1/2 oz of agave or simple syrup.
What’s on your menu for your cinco de mayo party?
Bubbly Side Communities
THANK YOU for being here. It really means a lot to us as we love to celebrate with you. And we invite you to join us over on:
