The 64-Year-Old Mexican Tequila Cocktail I’m Drinking for the Rest of Summer (Only 4 Ingredients!)

I’m calling it: This is my summer of alarmingly simple cocktails. I’ve already discovered the joys of two different wine cocktails — one with red wine and one with white. Two is a coincidence, three is a trend. My newest summer drink discovery comes via the queen of the kitchen herself, Martha Stewart. I saw a post on her Instagram declaring the batanga the “cocktail of summer,” and since my summer already has two signature cocktails, I thought, why not a third?

The batanga is a Mexican cocktail said to have been invented in the 1960s by a restaurateur who named the drink after a portly customer (batanga is slang for “thick in the middle”). It’s a simple drink composed of only four ingredients: tequila, cola, lime juice, and salt. While very similar, the batanga is not the same as the charro negro (or “black cowboy”), another classic Mexican cocktail that is almost the same, but not quite, lacking the batanga’s signature salt rim. Light, fizzy, and under five ingredients? I was immediately on board.

The only part of making this drink that’s even slightly fussy is the salt rim. I kept it simple by cutting a wedge from the lime before I juiced it, running it along the rim of a glass and then rolling it around in a small pile of kosher salt I’d made on a plate. 

After that I just added 1/2 ounce of lime juice and 1 1/2 ounces of tequila to the glass with some ice, topped it off with cola, and garnished with the lime wedge I used to salt the rim. I have to say, Martha was right. This drink was as tasty as it was refreshing. It was 88 degrees, and the sweet, lightly tart, fizzy cocktail was perfect for the summertime heat. I had been a touch skeptical of the salt in this context, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it provided a nice contrast to the sweetness of the cola. No notes.

• Play with the ratios. I used 1/2 ounce of lime juice and about 6 ounces of cola, but if you wanted this to be a bit more tart you could up the lime, or if you wanted a stronger drink, use less cola.
• Don’t want salt? Make a charro negro. If you skip the salt rim this drink is called a charro negro, which is also quite delicious.

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: The 64-Year-Old Mexican Tequila Cocktail I’m Drinking for the Rest of Summer (Only 4 Ingredients!)