This delicious Mexican candy shot recipe is perfect for serving at your Cinco de Mayo party. A tasty twist on the classic margarita!
A deliciously fruity and tangy Mexican Candy Shot recipe with a spicy kick.
Given our love for fruity drinks and fun cocktails, we thought these Mexican Candy Shots would be the ultimate refreshing and fun shots to try!
And if you have ever had Mexican candy, you’ll know that it has an explosion of sweet and slightly spicy flavors and ingredients.
So it’s the perfect inspiration for this tequila shot recipe (even though you can consume it in a bigger cocktail version.)
What is Mexican Candy?
Mexican candy combines sweet fruity flavors (usually from mango, strawberry, or watermelon) and sour and spicy flavors (usually from tamarind, grapefruit and lime).
Known as the Mexican lollipop, it is hard candy dusted with chili powder.
Why is it Called Mexican Candy?
The drink is called a “vero rebanaditas” because it’s based on authentic Mexican candy, which has been coated in chili powder. It comes in three different flavors: watermelon (or paleta), strawberry elote style–and mangoes!
What Kind of Hot Sauce to Use?
If you’re looking for the perfect Mexican candy shot recipe, you’ll need to choose the right hot sauce. We recommend using a bright and fruity hot sauce like mango habanero hot sauce. This will give your shots a sweet, spicy flavor that everyone will love. Trust us; your guests will be begging for more!
Ingredients Needed to Make a Mexican Candy Shot
Tequila — We used silver tequila, but other types work. Silver tequila is clear and more commonly used for mixing cocktails like skinny margaritas and blue motorcycle recipes.
Watermelon juice — Fresh is always best, but bottled juice is fine. You can substitute watermelon juice for mango or grapefruit juice. Both versions are equally delicious!
Tabasco or any spicy hot sauce
Lime juice — Substitute for grapefruit or lemon juice if you want to play around with the recipe.
Lime wheel — For garnish
Granulated white sugar, lime zest, and powdered chilies — For our sweet Tajín-inspired rim. Tajín is a Mexican mix of spices, and we’ll show you how to make our sweet version that balances out the sourness of the shot.
How to Make Mexican Candy Shots
To prep your shot glass:
Step 1 — Mix in the sugar, powdered chilies, and lime zest in a small bowl to make your sweet Tajín mix.
Step 2 — Rub a lime wedge around the rim of the glass. This will help the sweet Tajín mix stick to the glass.
Step 3 — Dip the shot glass into the sweet Tajín mixture to garnish the rim.
To make your shot:
Step 1 — In a cocktail shaker with ice cubes, combine the watermelon juice, the silver Tequila, the lime juice, and the Tabasco sauce. Shake well until the shaker gets cold.
Step 2 — Strain the mixture into the shot glass.
Step 3 — Garnish with a lime wheel.
Pro Tips and Variations in Making Mexican Candy Shot
— Play with the ratio between the fruit juice and the tequila to adjust it to your taste. In our case, we preferred to have 1 part tequila with 2-3 parts of fruit juice.
— If your fruit is not yet ripe, add more sugar to the mix or even a dash or two of simple syrup.
— You could use white sugar instead of Tajin for the shot glass rim.
— Instead of watermelon pucker, you could use another flavor like strawberry schnapps, mango schnapps, etc.
— Whether you make chamoy yourself or buy it at the store, you can enjoy it. Follow the recipe as usual after adding the chamoy to the rim.
More Recipes for Cinco de Mayo
Enjoy these Mexican shots at a dinner party or happy hour. And of course, they’re perfect for celebrating Cinco de Mayo as with our other favorite recipes below —
- Skinny Jalapeno Margarita
- Cinnamon Churros with Chili Chocolate
- Blackberry Sage Margarita Granita Recipe
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
Mexican Candy Shot Recipe
Equipment
- Shot glasses
- Jigger
- Measuring spoons
- Fine zester
- Small mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 5 oz fresh watermelon juice
- 2 oz tequila
- 2-3 dash Tabasco sauce or to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- Lime wheel for garnish
For the sweet Tajín inspired rim:
- 1/2 lime zest
- 2 tbsp granulated white sugar
- 1 tbsp powdered chilies
Nutrition
Notes
- Play with the ratio between the fruit juice and the tequila to adjust it to your taste. In our case, we personally preferred to have 1 part tequila with 2-3 parts of fruit juice.
- If your fruit is not yet ripe, add more sugar to the mix or even a dash or two of simple syrup.
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix in the sugar, powdered chilies, and lime zest to make your sweet Tajín mix.
- Rub a lime wedge around the rim of the glass. This will help the sweet Tajín mix stick to the glass.
- Dip the shot glass into the sweet Tajín mixture to garnish the rim.
- In a cocktail shaker with ice cubes, combine the watermelon juice, the silver Tequila, the lime juice, and the Tabasco sauce. Shake well until the shaker gets cold.
- Strain the mixture into the shot glass.
- Garnish with a lime wheel inside the glass.
Don’t forget to share your Mexican Candy Shot with us on Instagram using the hashtag #sugarandclothloves. We always love seeing all of your creations! Looking for more quick and delicious recipes? You can find them all right here with a few desserts to go along with them.
Do you have any Brandy recipes? I was searching on your page but couldn’t find anything. I love your recipes. I have tried some of them. Recently I was feeling I need to try a brandy recipe. That’s why I came here but couldn’t find any. Can you help me?
Hi! We actually had one queued up to publish so we waited to reply when it went live but we do have a new Carajillo recipe that uses cognac: https://sugarandcloth.com/carajillo-recipe/. We plan of doing some more Hennessy cocktails like our Strawberry Hennessy recipe also: https://sugarandcloth.com/strawberry-hennessy-recipe/. There is also our Cranberry Side Car: https://sugarandcloth.com/cranberry-sidecar-cocktail/. Hope this helps!