Tequila/Mezcal
El Diablo
Tequila, blackcurrant liqueur, lime, and a spicy ginger beer top — deceptively easy to underestimate.
Every recipe on Sipped Right is tested at home before it's published — not just written.
Origin
El Diablo's first known print appearance is in Trader Vic's 1946 "Book of Food & Drink," making it a genuine relic of the original American tiki era rather than a modern invention borrowing its aesthetic. The recipe originally called for ginger ale rather than ginger beer — but ginger ale in the 1940s was a spicier, more assertive drink than the mild version sold today, closer to what we'd now call ginger beer. The drink hasn't actually gotten milder over eighty years; the industry just renamed the ingredient underneath it. It's stayed a reliable, unfussy order at tiki bars ever since — simple enough for four ingredients at home, with enough tequila-and-blackcurrant personality to stand apart from the rum-heavy drinks around it.
Flavour Profile
Good for a tequila cocktail with more going on than a Margarita, or a spicy, easy-drinking pour on a warm evening. Not a slow-sipping cocktail — the carbonation wants to be drunk lively. Medium strength, genuinely spicier than most tequila highballs.
Glass & Garnish
Highball or Collins glass, over ice, built tall. Garnish: lime wheel or twist.
Ingredients
- Tequila1.5 oz
- Crème de Cassis0.5 oz
- Fresh lime juice0.5 oz
- Ginger beer~3 oz, to top
Method
- Fill a highball with ice.
- Pour lime juice over ice.
- Add Crème de Cassis.
- Add tequila.
- Top with ginger beer.
- Stir gently.
- Garnish with a lime wheel or twist.
Notes
Mezcal substitutes for a smokier version. A raspberry liqueur works in place of Crème de Cassis, less sweet — adjust lime accordingly. Not a batching cocktail — carbonation goes in fresh per glass. Pairs with grilled or spicy food.
Tools Used
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