8 tequila cocktails (besides margaritas) to try at home

I don't think I've ever needed an excuse to drink tequila.

But if you're looking for one, the calendar has your back: Sunday is National Tequila Day.

To celebrate, we've rounded up eight tequila cocktail recipes that aren't margaritas. The spirit is versatile and can serve as the foundation for an array of cocktails.

There are other traditionally tequila-based cocktails, including palomas, to consider along with recipes designed by mixologists and shared in cocktail books. And — on top of that — there are traditional favorites that can be altered to be tequila-based such as espresso martinis, which came back in vogue with a fury last year, but are usually made with vodka.

No matter what you choose, there are plenty of options to taste test.

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Paloma

A margarita is great but the paloma is my hands-down favorite tequila cocktail. And it's even better frozen (something I learned at New York City's Playa Betty's but have not yet perfected at home).

Love and Lemons posted a recipe for a paloma on the rocks and encourages at-home bartenders to "taste and adjust" proportions to their liking.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces tequila

• 2 ounces fresh grapefruit juice, plus wedges for garnish

• 2 ounces sparkling water

• .5 ounce lime juice

• .25 ounce agave nectar or simple syrup, or to taste

• Coarse sea salt, for the rim of the glasses

• Ice

Instructions:

Salt the rim of the glass by rubbing a grapefruit wedge around the edge and dipping it onto a small plate of salt.

Mix the tequila, grapefruit juice, sparkling water, lime juice, and agave nectar into the glass. Fill the remainder of the glass with ice. Adjust sweetness to taste. Garnish with grapefruit wedge.

Texas Ranch water

Southern Living is calling Texas Ranch Water "your new favorite summer cocktail."

And it seems pretty simple to concoct with only four ingredients — be aware, Topo Chico is a "non-negotiable" here, according to Southern Living. And for clarity: This calls for Topo Chico mineral water, not the Topo Chico hard seltzer.

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces blanco tequila

• 1 ½ ounces fresh lime juice

• Topo Chico, chilled

• Fresh lime wedge for garnish

Instructions:

Fill a glass with ice. Add about three ounces (two shots) of blanco tequila and about an ounce and a half (a shot) of fresh lime juice. Top with Topo Chico. Garnish with a fresh lime wedge on the rim of the glass.

Espresso martini with tequila

Tequila brand Patrón shared its recipe for the caffeinated cocktail on its website.

Ingredients:

• .75 ounce Patrón XO Cafe or coffee-infused tequila

• .75 ounce Patrón Silver or silver tequila

• .75 ounce Espresso shot

• Fine sugar

• Powdered chocolate

Instructions:

Rim a martini glass with sugar. Combine coffee-infused tequila and silver tequilawith espresso in a mixing glass. Add ice; shake and strain. Garnish with powdered chocolate.

Tequila sunrise

I'm pretty sure this sweet drink is familiar to most people.

The tequila sunrise is fruity and fun — perfect for a summer afternoon — or, I suppose, you could venture this could serve as a brunch drink given it's time-sensitive name.

Baking Beauty shared a recipe for a tequila sunrise and recommends using a freshly squeezed OJ for taste.

Ingredients:

• 4  ounces orange juice

• 2 ounces tequila

• 1 ounce grenadine

• Ice cubes

• Orange slices and maraschino cherries (to garnish)

Instructions:

Add ice cubes to a large glass. Pour in orange juice and tequila. Add grenadine. If desired garnish with orange slice and a maraschino cherry.

Tequila Negroni

Cecilia Rios Murrieta wrote "Tequila Made Me Do It" (isn't that a great title?), a book of 60 tequila and mezcal cocktails. With so many recipes, there are plenty of tequila cocktails to choose from including a tequila negroni.

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce Campari

• 1 ounce blanco tequila

• 1 ounce sweet vermouth

• Orange twist, to garnish

Instructions:

Fill a chilled double rocks glass with ice cubes. Add the Campari, tequila, and vermouth. Stir well. Garnish with a twist of orange peel to serve.

It’s Always Sunny

Another option from "Tequila Made Me Do it" is the "It's Always Sunny" cocktail featuring a mix of flavors including two citrus juices and ginger beer.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 ounces Fortaleza reposado tequila

• .5 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

• .5 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice

• .5 ounce simple syrup

• 2 dashes of Angostura bitters

• .5 ounce Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao

• ginger beer, to top up

• a twist of orange peel, to garnish

Instructions:

First, chill a coupe glass by placing it in the freezer or filling it with ice cubes, tossing them out once the glass is chilled. Add the tequila, lemon juice, orange juice, simple syrup, bitters, and Curaçao to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake. Strain into the chilled glass. Top up with a splash of ginger beer and garnish with orange peel to serve.

Tequila Mule

The traditional Moscow Mule can be made with tequila — and it takes less than 5 minutes to craft this cocktail according to Crowded Kitchen, which shared a how-to for the tequila-based mule on its website.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 ounces tequila

• .5 ounce orange liqueur

• .5 ounce lime juice

• .5 ounce agave

Instructions:

Start by filling a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Pour in tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice and agave. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds, then pour into a copper mug or cocktail glass filled with crushed ice.

Mexi-Politan

Tequila Cazadores also shared a tequila cocktail with USA TODAY: A take on the cosmopolitan crafted by its global brand ambassador, Manny Hinojosa.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 ounces Tequila Cazadores Blanco or blanco tequila

• .75 ounce Patron Citronge – Orange Liqueur

• . 75 ounce fresh Lime Juice

• 2 ounces homemade hibiscus flower tea (to be made by adding 1cup of dried hibiscus to 3 cups of water and boiling for a few minutes before cooling)

Instructions:

In a cocktail shaker combine all the ingredients with ice, shake and serve in a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with orange slice.

Make it non-alcoholic

The non-alcoholic beverage industry is growing and there are NA tequila options on the market, if you're not interested in drinking, want to alternate between NA and alcoholic or are sober-curious.

If you want to make your cocktail NA, swap in a tequila substitute such as Ish Spirits Non-alcoholic Tequila, Ritual Zero Proof Tequila or Clean T by the Clean Co.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tequila cocktails that aren't margaritas