Tequila/Mezcal · Tiki & Tropicals · Spicy
El Diablo Recipe
Tequila, blackcurrant liqueur, lime, and a spicy ginger beer top — deceptively easy to underestimate.
- Prep Time
- 1.5 min
- Method
- Stirred
- Glass
- Highball or Collins glass
- Strength
- Light
Every recipe on Sipped Right is tested for taste and balance before it's published.
Last updated September 14, 2026
About the El Diablo
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.
Ingredients
- Tequila1 ½ oz
- Crème de Cassis½ oz
- Fresh lime juice½ oz
- Ginger beer~3 oz, to top
- Lime wheel or twist, for garnish1
Method
- Fill a highball with ice.
- Measure and pour the fresh lime juice, Crème de Cassis and tequila into the glass.
- Top with ginger beer.
- Stir for 5 seconds.
- Cut a lime wheel.
- Garnish with the lime wheel.
Glass & Garnish
Highball or Collins glass, over ice, built tall. Garnish: 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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