Just ahead of Cinco de Mayo we bring you creative cocktail recipes crafted with Bandero Tequila, a relatively new brand that has already won multiple prestigious awards. Inspired by the spirit of the revolution, Bandero’s old world characteristics of bold flavors and unique packaging in a canteen-style bottle embody the fearless resistance of those who fight for their beliefs and rebel against the norm.

California-based Mixologist Ricardo Calderon designs custom drinks inspired by a new wave art and fashion coming out of Bandero Tequila‘s hometown, Guadalajara, Mexico.
This Tequila offers an elevated flavor profile, made from the finest Blue Weber agave from the hills of the Los Altos Highlands of Jalisco. The higher elevation where agave plants experience cooler nights, less rain and colder winters, transforms Bandero into a sweeter, richer “pineapple.”  This richer agave, high in sugar, creates a tequila with notes of pear and peach.

Bandero is both an ideal sipping tequila and cocktail ingredient. After just a few years on the market  the brand is winner of a Double Gold Medal at 2018 Global Spirit Awards, and Double Gold Medal at 2018 Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Of America Tasting Competition.

The cocktails below have been created by Calderon, a California native with family roots in Mexico.
The ‘cantinero’ has worked in the service industry for over a decade. Though every spirit has unique facets to enjoy, tequila is the drink of choice for this barkeep.

Bandero’s Cup
Ingredients
1 lime sliced into 6 wedges
1/2 oz of Agave Syrup (2:1 blend of Agave nectar and purified water)
3 half- inch slices of cucumber
2 oz of Bandero Tequila

Directions
Combine lime wedges, and agave syrup in a shaking tin and muddle until well mixed (15 seconds).
Add cucumbers and lightly muddle some more.
Add Bandero tequila and fill tin with ice.
Shake for 10 seconds at a moderate strength and toss contents of the tin into a rocks glass to serve.
Alternatively, shake harder and then add 2 oz of soda water before straining into a highball with fresh ice.
Garnish with a cucumber wheel, add a pinch of smoked salt and serve.

Created by Ricardo Calderon on behalf of Bandero Tequila

BanderoHelada 
Ingredients
2 oz of fresh squeezed lime juice
1 lime wedge
1 lemon wedge
2 serrano slices (1/4 of pepper, taste for spice level)
3 oz of BanderoHelada Blend (3:2:1–> tomato juice: Cholula hot sauce: Maggi)
1 oz of Bandero Tequila
3 oz ABK Hell Lager

Directions
Prepare a cold pint glass by rubbing a lime wedge on the rim before dipping it into a plate of tajin powder. Muddle together all non-alcoholic ingredients, then add Bandero and ice to tin.
Shake tins vigorously for 30 seconds. Add ice, then 3 oz of ABK Hell Lager to prepared pint glass. Hawthorne-strain and fine-strain tin contents into the pint glass.
Garnish with lemon and lime wedges and serve.