The Best Liquor For Getting Blasted On Taco Bell's Baja Blast

Oh, come on, you've thought about it. You're sitting there at Taco Bell, tearing into that Beefy 5-Layer Burrito or Crunchwrap Supreme, washing it all down with a signature Mountain Dew Baja Blast, and thinking, "This would be better with a whole bunch of alcohol poured in it." Heck, it's Taco Bell, so you've probably stumbled to the door from the friendly confines of a drinking establishment. So, it honestly just makes sense to consider how that fluorescent beverage could be turned into a cocktail.

The most obvious choice would be tequila, right? I mean, no one is arguing that Taco Bell is a full-fledged Mexican restaurant, but it is nominally influenced by the culinary style and culture of Mexico. Adding a shot of tequila to a cup of Baja Blast would definitely make sense. At its base level, this combination is not too shabby, but it can be elevated even further by creating a Baja Blast margarita. This riff on the classic cocktail invites lime juice and orange liqueur to the party, which accents some of the fruity notes of the Mountain Dew. Note though, you'll likely have to bring your Taco Bell order home with you — or pick up a bottle of Baja Blast from the grocery store – as the establishment doesn't take a favorable view of customers bringing in bottles of alcohol to doctor their drinks. It's probably for the best anyway, as you can add a few lime wedges and even a salt rim to your Baja Blast margarita on your own turf.

We'll leave it up to you to decide what to order with your Baja Blast, whether that's an austere Spicy Potato Soft Taco or a specialty limited-edition item like a Cantina Chicken Cheesy Street Chalupa dressed with Fire sauce. But we do have opinions regarding what tequila should be added to your beverage mix. Listen, this is Taco Bell, and as much as we love it, fancy it ain't. So don't reach for the top-shelf, aged tequilas. This is blanco country, and not just because it offers serious bang for your buck.

Blanco tequila is the unaged expression of the spirit. Just as a refresher, tequila is made from the fermented juice of the agave plant. Reposado, or "rested," and añejo, or "aged," tequilas see time in toasted barrels that give them both color and woody notes of caramel and vanilla. Blanco, in contrast, delivers a more fresh agave flavor with vegetal and fruity notes along with bursts of pepper across the tongue.

Why does that matter? Well, Baja Blast, which was formulated specifically for Taco Bell and its menu items, offers plenty of fruit flavors of its own. Regular Mountain Dew is full of citrus flavor, and as we've previously discussed, Baja Blast is supposed to taste like "tropical lime." Lime is a classic pairing with tequila — especially blanco — so it is easy to see why this is our choice for dosing up the soft drink.