I Tried Buffalo Wild Wings' Matchday Cocktails, And Now I Care About The World Cup

Buffalo Wild Wings is throwing penalty cards left and right with its two new specialty cocktails in honor of the 2026 World Cup. The Yellow Card Margarita and Red Card Punch became available at Buffalo Wild Wings locations across America starting June 11 to correspond with the beginning of the international tournament. The sports bar is just one of many brands, including Crumbl, capitalizing on the World Cup coming to North America for the first time since 1994. Buffalo Wild Wings introduced these new cocktails alongside six new dipping sauces — the Around the World Dip Flight — as part of its Matchday Menu. 

I was one of the first people to try both of the cocktails when they first became available. I was so early, in fact, that the special menus had not even arrived at the restaurant yet, and I had to show the bartender what drinks I wanted from the online menu on my phone. Nevertheless, the sports bar did have the recipes to make them, and I was able to taste test both on the very day they dropped.

The stars aligned as I walked into the Buffalo Wild Wings in Koreatown, Los Angeles, on Thursday, June 11 to taste test the chain's two new cocktails. While both the Yellow Card Margarita and Red Card Punch certainly fit the World Cup theme, my game plan was to base my thoughts about both drinks on flavor and drinkability.

In my naivety, I went to my local Buffalo Wild Wings around lunchtime thinking that it would be pretty empty, and I could sit in a booth, try the drinks, and take my photos of each in peace. Instead, I walked into an excessively crowded bar as our neighboring team Mexico faced off against South Africa for the very first match of the World Cup. I grabbed the very last seat available at the bar in between two locals who may or may not have known each other before they walked in, but were fast friends by the time I sat down. Mexico scored its first goal immediately — a sign of things to come. 

I preface my review with this, because a cocktail always tastes sweeter when paired with something to celebrate. And the many fans of Mexico in the building certainly saw God in this Buffalo Wild Wings. Chants were being sung, vuvuzelas were being blown, and rounds and rounds of beers were being served.

Buffalo Wild Wings' special Mexico-inspired Yellow Card Margarita contains Casamigos Reposado Tequila, Cointreau, mango, vanilla, lime sour, fresh lime juice, and Grand Mariner. The rim is dipped in Tajín and adorned with a plastic yellow card. The massive cocktail is pretty sweet, with a mango-forward flavor that masks the taste of any tequila present. The Tajín margarita rim balances the sweetness nicely with just a touch of spice, a quintessential part of any Mexico-inspired cocktail. It's not an incredibly strong drink, but it is a tasty one. Served in a goblet-like glass, the Yellow Card Margarita reminds me a bit of a margarita from Chili's — sweet, a bit syrupy, and very easy to chug down. 

The Yellow Card Margarita has a bit more flavor than its permanent counterparts — Buffalo Wild Wings' classic or strawberry margaritas. It's a nice addition to the menu, and one that I would certainly order again.

The Red Card Punch — made with coconut rum, strawberry, pineapple juice, and lime — tasted even better than the Yellow Card Margarita. And that means a lot coming from someone who generally prefers tequila drinks to rum-based ones. The coconut and strawberry blend beautifully together for an incredibly summery, sweet cocktail. While undoubtedly sweet, I think the flavors work even better together in this drink than in the specialty margarita. 

The strawberry is the star of the show in the Red Card Punch, followed closely behind the sweetness of the coconut. The rim of the goblet-sized glass is coated in a red sugar, which quickly melted in the heat of the testosterone-filled sports bar. It left a sticky red residue all over the cup that stained my hands and made me look like a boy with a melty Bomb Pop. The red sugar was lacking in flavor compared to the traditional Tajín or salt that usually rims a glass.

Still, this vibrant red cocktail was even easier to finish than the margarita. This Caribbean-inspired rum drink isn't as obviously connected to any World Cup qualifying teams, but it's one that any fan around the world can enjoy.

In the end, Mexico beat South Africa by 2-0, and Buffalo Wild Wings beat my expectations by the same score. Mexico scored its second goal as my second cocktail was being served, and they officially won the game right as I was slurping down the last few sips. By the end of my drinks, I, too, had become fast friends with the two men on either side of me, drinking at the Koreatown Buffalo Wild Wings bar at 1 p.m. on a Thursday. I didn't think either of the cocktails were particularly strong, but I also started to feel God in this Buffalo Wild Wings. Is this what being a sports fan is like? Or was it just the power of international competition and two new cocktails from Buffalo Wild Wings? The only way to find out for sure is to try them yourselves. 

The Yellow Card Margarita and Red Card Punch will only be available for a limited time, likely throughout the end of the World Cup on July 19. Each drink cost $13 in Los Angeles, but the price is likely to vary depending on your location.