Ranch Water was our go-to summer cocktail while vacation in Austin, Texas. It is fresh lime juice, tequila, and either Topo Chico or soda water. It is light and refreshing.
Mike and I recently spent four nights in Austin, Texas. Mainly the East Austin area, if you’re looking for specifics.
The temperature in Texas stayed between the high 80’s to the low 90’s.
That was great for me, because all I wanted to do was to sit by the pool and get in some uninterrupted reading time.
It became rather sticky later on when we were sitting outdoors eating our weight in Texas BBQ.
I love a good craft beer, IPA, what have you, but with the heat and all the food, we needed something lighter.
Ranch water to the rescue.
You can find ranch water now sold in cans in the hard seltzer area of the liquor store/section.
It is not as good as the DIY, made from scratch version.
Ranch Water is basically a tequila highball cocktail that from West Texas.
No one knows exactly how it came to be, or even how it got its’ name. Some people say a Texas rancher invented it in the 1960’s.
All I know if that it is delightful and we brought this staple cocktail home with us to Illinois.
HOW TO MAKE RANCH WATER?
Ranch water is a cocktail that combines bubbly water/ mineral water/ soda water with tequila and fresh lime juice.
I have heard that it really isn’t ranch water unless you use Topo Chico brand mineral water, but I am from Illinois so I’ll let it slide if you want to use lime LaCroix or any other soda water instead.
Think of it as a sort of skinny margarita, low carb marg, with less work involved.
A few people over on Instagram asked for a run down of where we stayed, ate, and saw live music whilst in Austin.
Keep on scrolling past the recipe for the cocktail to see some pics from the trip along with the places we loved.
Ranch Water
A light, refreshing tequila and mineral water based cocktail from Texas.
Ingredients
- juice from 1 lime
- 1 1/2 ounces tequila
- 6 ounces Topo Chico Mineral Water or Original LaCroix Sparkling Water
- Ice
Instructions
- Add ice to a highball glass. Add the lime juice, tequila, and top with Topo Chico or sparkling water. Stir to combine. Enjoy!
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Where to eat, drink, and play in Austin, Texas?
We stayed at The Fairmont Austin. The pool was very nice and as expected did get a little crowded in the late afternoon. That was ok with us because we were normally off to find a happy hour deal.
People told me that in East Austin stick to Congress Street or Rainey Street. The hotel was walking distance to Rainey, so that is where we spent a majority of the time.
Breakfast Vibes
Quickie Pickie | Paperboy | South Congress Cafe | Cenote* | Biscuits + Groovy Food Truck
Drinks
Craft Pride* | Javelina | Zilker Brewing | The White Horse* | The Tipsy Alchemist | The Grackle | Latchkey*
Food
Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden | Via 313 Pizza | Suerte | Licha’s Cantina | Better Half Coffee & Cocktails | Clark’s Oyster Bar | La Barbecue
*Also has very good live music.
Clearly, we went to relax, eat, and drink. I am sure that when we go back we would hit up more touristy excursions.
Maybe.
Nothing wrong with a trip that centers around eating, right?
