I was inspired to make an after dinner tequila cocktail for Steph and I’s pop up dinner. I decided to try a tequila based classic style old fashioned. The blood oranges are not only delicious but the color is spectacular. The flavors of the cocktail are a perfect balance between sweet and spicy! The rich blood orange and repo tequila hits your mouth, the cinnamon softly coats your tongue and the lingering spice from the chile de arbol leaves you wanting another sip over and over again.
When I initiate the process of creating a cocktail, I always look for a source of inspiration or have one ingredient I want to use in the cocktail and start building around that. The blood oranges inspired this particular cocktail, plus I needed a good after dinner tequila cocktail recipe, voile, everything else followed. A traditional “cocktail” was first mentioned in written form in the May 1806 issue of The Balance and Columbian Repository in Hudson, New York. The paper’s editor wrote that it was a potent concoction of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar. At the time it was also referred to as a bittered sling. By the 1860s, it was common for orange curaçao, absinthe, and other liqueurs to be added to the cocktail. The original concoction, albeit in different proportions, came back into vogue and was referred to as “old-fashioned”…
Recipe: Makes 1 Cocktail
- 2 oz Corraleu Reposado Tequila
- 1 oz *Chile de Arbol Blood Orange Syrup (see recipe below)
* Chile de Arbol Blood Orange Syrup: Makes enough for 4 cocktails
- 1/4 Cup Blood Orange – fresh squeezed
- 1/4 Cup Raw Sugar
- 1/8 Teaspoon Chile de Arbol powder
- 1/8 Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
- 1/8 Teaspoon Blood Orange Bitters
- Dash of Sea Salt
Profile: Strong, Sweet & Spicy ~ Classic Inspiration/Original Recipe
Glass: Old Fashioned
Garnish: Blood Orange Peel
Instructions:
Syrup
In a small saucepan on medium heat, add ingredients to pan. Stir continuously to mix in the sugar. Once the sugar is dissolved turn heat off and set aside to cool. Once syrup is cool you can strain through cheesecloth to extract some of the powder; the spice will still be there though.
Cocktail
Add all ingredients to a mixing pitcher or mixing glass, fill glass 3/4 full with ice, stir for a few seconds.
Using a julep strainer strain into an old fashioned glass over fresh ice.
Garnish with blood orange peel.
*Chile de Arbol comes in at 15,000 units on the Scoville scale for heat; a little goes a long way. I added a very small amount but if you like a little more heat add as much as you like.
