Cooking Lesson #1060: Texas Ranch Water

…from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour Bar

How you doin’? Howdy partner! In Dallas there are two favorite cocktails--Bourbon & Branch and Texas Ranch Water, which might sound a little sketchy, but it will soon be your new favorite cocktail.
 
While Texans might disagree about where you'll find the best barbecue brisket or which Buc-ee's snack food is the best (the answer is Beaver Nuggets), I'd reckon that they'd almost all agree that the cocktail they want to drink when it's so hot you can slice the air is Texas Ranch Water.
 
It's easy to customize Texas Ranch Water however you wish. Feel free to skip any measuring altogether, relying on your eyeballs instead. I provided a ratio below that can get you started on a perfect basic Texas Ranch Water. Texas Ranch Water is a simple, three-ingredient cocktail that is nearly impossible to mess up. Think of it as something like a skinny margarita, but even easier. And although the drink itself is unfussy as can be, the name is obscure enough to confuse the uninitiated.
 
Texas Ranch Water is easy to make with simple and readily available ingredients: blanco tequila, fresh lime juice, and Topo Chico.
 
A bunch of people out there refer to it as Texas Ranch Water because cowboys are out there working hard all day, and they want a good drink of water. But they want it a little bit special.
 
Here are a few of my favorite ways to easily tweak an already great cocktail: Add a splash of grapefruit juice, rim the glass with chili-lime salt, give it a dash of Grand Marnier, or muddle a couple jalapeño slices at the bottom. Punching up the drink with some added spice is a popular modification. For real cowgirls, just add a couple of pickled jalapeno slices. "Yee haw!"
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients 
3 ounces Blanco tequila
1-1/2 ounces fresh lime juice
Chilled Topo Chico
Fresh lime wedge for garnish
 
Directions

1. Fill a rocks glass with ice—really, whatever glass you have on hand is okay.
2. Add the tequila and fresh lime juice.
3. Top with Topo Chico (carbonated mineral water)
4. Add fresh lime wedge to the rim of the glass. Enjoy!

ChefSecret:  The amounts of tequila and lime juice can be halved to fit a smaller cocktail glass or to be less boozy in general. Just use a ratio of two-parts tequila to one-part fresh lime juice. Some people say that Topo Chico is a nonnegotiable in a Texas Ranch Water cocktail. That's because the sparkling water packs an extra-bubbly punch that adds sparkle to every sip. But is it critical? Technically no. Remember, the breezy nature of the drink means that anything goes.
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Quip of the Day:  I found out I’m allergic to tequila. Every time I drink it, I break out in handcuffs.
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