Tequila Cocktails

[kalypso]

I like tequila, it plays well with most fruit juices, especially tropical ones. Try a margarita with some coconut and up the lime a bit; a delicious take on the pina colada. Guava is another great match for tequila.

A couple of tequila based drinks I haven't seen mentioned yet - though they are similar to, or variations of, previous posts - are the Chico and the Oaxaca Old Fashioned. Sauver magazine ran the Chico in their Texas issue last year.

CHICO

2 oz Tequila (silver)

2 oz Blackberry liqueur

1 oz simple syrup

1/2 oz lemon juice

Club soda to finish

Served over ice during the summer, it is refreshing

Oaxaca Old Fashioned

1 1/2 oz Reposada

1/2 oz Mezcal (Del Maguey or Los Danzantes)

1 teaspoon agave nectar

Dash of bitters - preferably Bitterman's Xocolatl Mole bitters (which also goes pretty well in a standard Manhattan)

Shake together, serve up or on the rocks (rocks is my preference for this drink)

Switch out the vodka in a Bloody Mary for tequila and the drink becomes a Bloody Maria. (Use Snap-e-Tom in place of Bloody Mary mix if desired)

Tequila is also a pretty easy spirit to infuse. Think a little out of the box, though. Wipe off 6-10 whole, unstemmed, chile de arbols and add them to a new bottle of tequila. Let sit for at least 3 days but not more than 5 in the preverbial cool, dark place. Strain out the chiles and use tequila as you normally would. It'll have a nice kick to it without being over powering. Leaving the chiles in longer than about 5 days results in a firey tequila but some bitter overtones.

I make my 90 year old mother a margarita every Saturday...and sometimes on Sunday as well I've been doing this almost weekly for the last 2 or 3 years pretty regularly, which means I've been going through a lot of tequila. My mom loves my maggies and still has a pretty acute sense of taste, but her decernment for good tequila isn't very keen and these cocktails were costing me a lot of $$$ to keep tequila in the house. I'd heard about a tequila that supposedly tasted like it's upmarket cousins, but was very inexpensive. Figuring I had nothing to loose I gave it a go. I have to say, I was more than pleasantly surprised. For (basically) cheap tequila it made a fine margarita. Lunazul comes in both blanco and reposado and costs $17.99. It's not always that easy to find, but BevMo here on the West Coast always seems to have it. For everyday drinks and consumption it's a pretty decent and affordable alternative.

[KatieLoeb]

New on the cocktail list at Oyster House - the False Alibi, named for the L'Alibi aperitif that is part of the recipe. Kind of like a more elegant smoky margarita. L'Alibi is like Lillet, but with a bitter quinine finish. Cocchi Americano would stand in nicely for this. This drink was really a group effort. Probably the only cocktail ever created by committee that came out this tasty.

2 oz. Siembra Azul Reposado

.5 oz. L'Alibi (or Cocchi Americano)

.75 oz. fresh lime juice

.5 oz. agave nectar

Laphroaig single malt in an atomizer

Large strip grapefruit peel

Mix tequila, L'Alibi, lime juice and agave nectar together in an iced shaker and shake vigorously. Spray a chilled cocktail glass with 2 spritzes of scotch to coat the inner surface. Strain drink into glass and squeeze grapefruit peel above drink and garnish.

[thirtyoneknots]

We've been enjoying a Corpse Reviver type thing lately; equal parts Blanco Tequila, Dolin Blanc, lime, and Cointreau with two drops of absinthe (Lucid at work). Unlike the CR#2 it doesn't obscure the spirit, but mutes it to a nice accent.

[philadining]

(That False Alibi at the Oyster House is quite tasty...)

The folks at The Franklin in Philly have been making me variations on Phil Ward's Silver Monk lately, and I suspect it's going to be my summer go-to drink.

The basic one is:

2oz Blanco Tequila

3/4 simple

3/4 Yellow Chartreuse

Juice of one lime

Pinch of Salt

Shaken, served with one big rock, garnished with cucumber, and a sprig of mint.

Somehow, bartender Nick Jarret recently slipped some Gilka Kaiser Kummel in there, and it was very nice, but I have no idea about proportions, or if he pulled something else back...

[Kohai]

This has been received pretty well for the spring.

Sister Tristessa

1.5 oz. Herradura Silver

1.5 oz. Noilly Pratt dry vermouth (scant)

.5 oz. lemon

.5 oz. 2:1 simple syrup

4 cucumber slices

Muddle cucumber well at the bottom of a shaker. Add everything else and shake. Double-strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with thin floating cucumber wheel.

Everything hangs together pretty nicely.

[FrogPrincesse]

Lots of tasty-looking drinks on this thread.

Last night I made this simple variation on a Caipirinha but with tequila instead of cachaça, the Caipirita (tequila, lime, brown sugar cube, simple syrup). I used limes from Schaner Farms that were extremely fragrant - the oils from the peel scented the whole kitchen with the most intoxicating fragrance!

[FrogPrincesse]

Here is a weird tequila cocktail. Michael Madrusan's Sea Way with tequila blanco, cherry liqueur, Islay scotch, orange bitters. Tequila and Islay scotch should not work together but somehow the cherry liqueur manages to bridge the gap between the two.

[Keith Orr]

I've had some tequila cocktails with some smoky mezcal added in that were quite pleasing so I guess it doesn't surprise me that this one works.

I'm not much of a smoky, peaty scotch drinker, but I think I need to have a bottle on hand for things like this.

I wish I could get my hands on a bottle of the Sangue Morlacco. I'm a fan of the Luxardo line of booze.

[FrogPrincesse]

Viva Villa with tequila blanco, lime juice, and simple syrup. It can be described as a tequila daiquiri, which is a delicious way to showcase the vegetal notes of the Siete Leguas. A very nice alternative to a margarita.

[FrogPrincesse]

I've had some tequila cocktails with some smoky mezcal added in that were quite pleasing so I guess it doesn't surprise me that this one works.

You are right; I did not look at it this way but it makes perfect sense now!

[Dezmanturner]

1 1/2 oz Hornitos Reposado Tequila
1/2 oz Monte Alban Mezcal
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz Luxardo Maraschino
1/2 oz house made brown sugar syrup
1/4 oz blood orange bitters
Shake and serve in a cocktail glass
Garnish with a Luxardo Maraschino Cherry and a pinch of Kosher salt over the top of the cocktail

This is something nice to make for Cinco de Mayo. I featured it at the bar last night for "May the 4th be with you!' and the patrons loved it. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

[FrogPrincesse]

Oaxaca Old Fashioned (Phil Ward): tequila reposado, mezcal, agave syrup, mole bitters. I used this recipe but I don't see why it could not be just built in the glass.

This one packs a punch, especially the first few sips (wow). Then it mellows and you can finally appreciate all the aromas, spice and smoke.

These cool little OF glasses are a find from Kerry - thanks again Kerry!

[Kerry Beal]

You're right - little glasses look like normal sized glasses in the pictures.

[Darcie B]

Posting in this forum makes me feel like the dog meme, but I'm forging ahead anyway. I really haven't done anything with tequila except for margaritas, but thought I would venture out. Given the affinity of maraschino and tequila mentioned above I muddled a strawberry, added 1 1/2 oz reposado tequila, 3/4 oz Luxardo maraschino, juice of 1/2 a lime (~3/4 oz) and 1/4 oz of simple and came up with this:

Maybe needs less acid, but I thought the flavors melded nicely.

[Base_nz]

^{a great blanco straight up with a great sangrita ......yummmmmmm!!!}

^{and strange as it sounds this combo im planning on putting on my next menu "jangles" nicely}

^{vanilla infused el jimador tequila}

^{muddled lychee lime, lemon and ginger}

^{agave syrup}

^shake

^{dumped into a short top up with ice rimmed with a sugar salt vanilla combo....}

^{sounds strange but if you get that balance right its a great sweeter tequila option...the girls at my bar have been going mad for it lately and good feedback from majority who have tried it ...}

[blue_dolphin]

The local paper informs me that today is National Tequila Day.

While the flavors seem more appropriate to cooler autumn weather, my sage is growing by leaps and bounds so the other day, I warmed up for the event with a Tequila and Sage Smash and enjoyed it very much. The "spanked sage bouquet" garnish cracks me up but I spanked it well indeed.

This evening, I am enjoying the Margara version posted by tanstaafl2 subbing Bittermans Xocolatl mole bitters for Angostura orange bitters. Very nice.

[haresfur]

I have to say I've grown very fond of a Brave Bull as a simple drink with a fair bit going on in the flavours playing off each other. A good winter drink that I think you could order at most bars without them screwing it up too badly (or that I can make after a hard day without screwing up). My preferred ratio is 2:1 tequila to Tia Maria built on the rocks.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

I'm quite fond of the Long Blonde Bomber, which is a shot of gold tequila dropped into a tall flute half-full of champagne.....

[Plantes Vertes]

No Mientas

2oz Gran Centenario reposado tequila

2oz grape juice

1/2oz lime juice

7 basil leaves

2 bsp citrus bitters

3 drops Angostura bitters

Garnish - basil leaves

Muddle basil, shake, strain over ice

Edited July 28, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

This one was crazy good. The Crafty and Elusive Elk (Daniel Warrilow from Son of a Gun, one of my favorite restaurants in LA): tequila, mezcal, maraschino, falernum, lime juice, orange bitters. Very improbable combo but the ingredients just clicked together, and it was delicious.

[Hassouni]

Seconded. I made one last night  and it was a very pleasant surprise. Superb

[FrogPrincesse]

A couple of tequila cocktails in the Tiki discussion.

 

From a couple of nights ago, Chris Bostick's La Lucha Sigue. Añejo tequila (7 Leguas), sweet vermouth (Dolin), amaro Nonino, absinthe (St George), orange bitters (Regan and Fee). Very interesting. Strong absinthe nose giving way to orange and spice. The resulting bitter orange and fennel combination is very pleasant; it reminds me of Provencal cuisine. The aged tequila adds a bass note that is not unlike amber.

 

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Infante (Giuseppe Gonzales) with 7 Leguas blanco tequila, lime juice, homemade orgeat. This really brings out the savory/peppery character of this tequila.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Infante (Giuseppe Gonzales) with 7 Leguas blanco tequila, lime juice, homemade orgeat. This really brings out the savory/peppery character of this tequila.

 

And how does one learn the recipe for this?  Not that it wouldn't be fun working out proportions.

[Craig E]

http://kindredcocktails.com/cocktail/infante