El Diablo
Tequila, lime and ginger beer with crème de cassis sunk in the bottom. A red-ringed long drink.
- Time
- 4 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Glass
- Highball
- Strength
- 2.1 UK units
How to make an El Diablo
- Fill the glass with ice. Fill a highball glass to the top with cubes, so the drink stays cold to the last sip.
- Add the tequila and lime. Pour in the tequila and lime juice and stir once.
- Top with ginger beer. Pour in the ginger beer slowly, leaving about 2 cm of space at the top.
- Drizzle the cassis. Pour the cassis slowly over the back of a bar spoon so it sinks in a dark layer through the ice. Add the garnish and give it a gentle stir before drinking.
- Glass
- HighballNo highball? A large tumbler.
- Ice
- Ice cubes
- Garnish
- A lime wedge and a blackberry on a pickOr: A lime wheel dropped in the glass.
What you need to make an El Diablo
Kit
JiggerA double-ended measure, usually 25 ml and 50 ml.
Citrus squeezerFresh juice makes the biggest difference of anything.
Bar spoonA long teaspoon does the job.
Bottles we'd use
- A reposado tequilaEl Jimador Reposado or Olmeca Altos Reposado: lightly oaked and good value for mixing.Find it on Amazon
- Crème de cassisLejay Crème de Cassis de Dijon or Briottet: a deep, true blackcurrant flavour.Find it on Amazon
- Ginger beerFever-Tree Premium Ginger Beer or Fentimans Ginger Beer.Find it on Amazon
Links to Amazon are affiliate links: if you buy through them, Bar Bandol may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
El Diablo variations and swaps
Use blanco tequila if you do not have reposado. For a smoky version, swap half the tequila for mezcal. Replace the cassis with blackberry or raspberry liqueur for a slightly different berry note. Fresh blackberries muddled in the glass instead of cassis give a fresher, less sweet drink. A dash of Angostura bitters adds spice. For a longer, lighter drink, use 100 ml of ginger beer and 50 ml of soda water, with a little extra lime.
The El Diablo story
El Diablo is usually traced to the 1940s and to Trader Vic, the Californian restaurateur and drinks writer, though accounts differ on the details. The name means "the devil", which probably nods to the red layer of cassis.
Pour the cassis last and slowly and it sinks, leaving a dark red layer under pale ginger beer. Cassis is a blackcurrant liqueur, sweet and tart at once, and it works well with tequila. The ginger beer's heat and the lime stop it from getting too sweet. A reposado tequila, with its light oak, is a nice fit, but blanco works too.
El Diablo: your questions answered
What is in an El Diablo?
An El Diablo is made with 50 ml tequila reposado, 15 ml fresh lime juice, 100 ml ginger beer and 15 ml crème de cassis. Garnish: a lime wedge and a blackberry on a pick.
How strong is an El Diablo?
Made to this recipe, an El Diablo contains about 2.1 UK units of alcohol per drink. That is worked out from typical bottle strengths, so it changes with the bottles you use. UK guidelines advise not regularly drinking more than 14 units a week.
What glass do you serve an El Diablo in?
Serve an El Diablo in a highball over ice. No highball? A large tumbler.
