Mexican Candy Shot Recipe

This delicious Mexican candy shot recipe is perfect for serving at your Cinco de Mayo party. A tasty twist on the classic margarita!

candy shots - drink with lime garnish

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.)

mexican lollipop shots - cocktail servings in a cup

What is Mexican Candy?

Mexican candy typically combine the 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 Shot?

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 3 different flavors: watermelon (or paleta), strawberry elote style–and mangoes!

What Kind of Hot Sauce Should You 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!

mexican shot - combined drink

Ingredients Needed

  • 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.
mexican candy shots - mixed sweet tajin in a spoon

How to Make Mexican Candy Shots

To prep your shot glass:

1 — Mix in the sugar, powdered chilies, and lime zest in a small bowl to make your sweet Tajín mix.

2 — Rub a lime wedge around the rim of the glass. This will help the sweet Tajín mix stick to the glass. 

3 — Dip the shot glass into the sweet Tajín mixture to garnish the rim.

mexican candy drink - sweet tajin in a bowl

To make your shot:

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. 

2 — Strain the mixture into the shot glass.

3 — Garnish with a lime wheel.

mexican candy shot recipe - cocktail with chili pepper

Recipe Notes and Tips

  • 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 can 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

mexican candy shot - single serving of cocktail
mexican candy shot - single serving of cocktail

Mexican Candy Shot Recipe

Print Recipe
5 from 4 votes
A deliciously fruity and tangy Mexican Candy Shot recipe with a spicy kick.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course Cocktails
Cuisine Shots

Equipment

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 white granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp powdered chilies

Nutrition

Calories: 62kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 34IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg
Servings: 5 shots
Calories: 62kcal

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.
KEYWORD: mexican candy shot recipe

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!

Please note that we may earn a commission for some of the above affiliate links. However, products featured are independently selected and personally well-loved by us!

5 from 4 votes (3 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Leave a Rating:




2 Comments

  1. 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?5 stars