Mission Craft Cocktails‘ bar-strength Tamarind Margarita brings Mexican candy flavors to a ready-to-drink cocktail that funds meals via Feeding America.
There’s a flavor system that’s been doing serious work in Mexican markets, corner tiendas, and street carts for generations — tamarind, chili, lime, and a hit of sweet heat — and nobody in the premium RTD cocktail space has touched it. Until now.
Mission Craft Cocktails, the Orange County-based brand that has been quietly building one of the more interesting bar-strength ready-to-drink lineups in the country, just launched its Tamarind Margarita. It lands in time for World Cocktail Day — May 13, which this year marks 220 years since the first printed definition of a “cocktail” appeared in 1806 — and it arrives not as a novelty flavor but as a legitimate expression built around a flavor profile that earned its credibility long before any cocktail trend discovered it.
What Mexican Candy Culture Actually Tastes Like
The Tamarind Margarita combines premium tequila and handmade orange liqueur with lime, tamarind, agave nectar, watermelon, and chili.
What you get is a profile that moves in stages: the tart, slightly funky pull of tamarind up front, then the citrus backbone of lime cutting through, then a slow chili warmth that doesn’t announce itself so much as it settles in. It’s the flavor architecture of a chamoy-rimmed mango paleta, reconfigured into a cocktail that sits at bar strength — 20 to 40% ABV — and means it.
That’s the distinction worth paying attention to. The RTD category has a low-ABV problem. Brands chasing convenience often chase session strength to match. Mission Craft doesn’t. Their lineup is built at full cocktail strength, which means it behaves like something poured by a bartender who measured correctly, not like a spiked lemonade that decided to call itself a margarita.
A SoCal Brand With a Specific Point of View
Founders Amit Singh and Marcin Malyszko built Mission Craft around locally-sourced Southern California ingredients and premium spirits — a specific sourcing position, not a marketing one.
In a state where “locally sourced” has become a phrase that means approximately nothing on 40% of restaurant menus, it’s worth noting when a brand actually builds a product that tastes like where it comes from.
The Tamarind Margarita joins a lineup that already includes a Classic Margarita and a Jalapeño Pineapple Margarita — which, if you’ve had it, is sharper than it sounds.
The chili in the new Tamarind expression is a different register than the jalapeño: slower, earthier, more integrated into the sweetness of the watermelon rather than riding on top of it. These are not interchangeable heat sources. One opens the door, the other lingers in the hallway.
Every Bottle Funds a Meal
Mission Craft has a One Bottle = One Meal program with Feeding America. To date, the brand has funded over 1,259,222 meals. With the Tamarind Margarita now in the lineup, they’re tracking toward 2,000,000 meals by the end of 2026.
“We can’t think of a better way to celebrate World Cocktail Day than with our Tamarind Margarita — a flavor profile inspired by Mexican candy culture and street-food traditions,” said Founders Amit Singh and Marcin Malyszko. “With the perfect balance of tamarind, chili, lime, and sweet heat, we are giving cocktail lovers another delicious way to pour it forward this spring and summer, bolstering our mission to support families facing hunger with our One Bottle = One Meal program with Feeding America.”
That’s a purpose structure that holds up without requiring you to feel good about it to enjoy the product.
The tamarind margarita is good whether you know about the meal program or not. That it funds one either way is the point.
Where to Find It
Mission Craft Cocktails has national retail distribution including Total Wine & More, with California availability at Costco, Ralphs, Whole Foods Market, BevMo!, Gelsons, Bristol Farms, Albertsons, VONS, Pavilions, Northgate, Cardenas, and Raley’s. In Chicago, it’s available at Binny’s Beverage Depot.
Serve it chilled over ice — the cold integration softens the tamarind’s tannin-adjacent quality and lets the chili finish do its job without competition.
Learn more at missioncocktails.com.
FAQ
What is a tamarind margarita made with? A tamarind margarita typically combines tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, and tamarind — a tangy, slightly sweet tropical fruit paste that’s central to Mexican candy and street food. Mission Craft Cocktails’ ready-to-drink version adds agave nectar, watermelon, and chili for a flavor profile that balances sweet heat with a slow-building finish.
What does bar-strength RTD cocktail mean? Bar strength means the cocktail is bottled at 20–40% ABV, the same range as what a trained bartender would pour. Most mainstream ready-to-drink cocktails sit at 5–10% ABV. Bar-strength RTDs are closer to the real thing — they just skip the shaker.
Where can I buy Mission Craft Cocktails Tamarind Margarita? Mission Craft Cocktails is available nationally at Total Wine & More, and in California at Costco, Ralphs, Whole Foods Market, BevMo!, Gelsons, Bristol Farms, Albertsons, VONS, Pavilions, Northgate, Cardenas, and Raley’s. In Chicago, find it at Binny’s Beverage Depot. In Hawaii, at Whole Foods Market, Costco, and KTA Super Stores.
If you’re building a summer bar cart that doesn’t embarrass itself, Mission Craft’s Tamarind Margarita earns a slot. Pour it over ice, skip the garnish theater, and let the flavor profile speak for itself. It’s been doing that in street-food form for decades — the bottle is just a new delivery system.
