Tequila Old Fashioned Recipe

One of my favorite cocktails of all time is an old fashioned, a drink which is traditionally made with bourbon, bitters, and a cube of sugar. It's a sweet, infused way to enjoy a glass of bourbon, and a little more casual than drinking bourbon neat. For as simple as it is, it's layered with depth and is endlessly riffable, able to be transformed into many variations just by swapping around the ingredients. One of my favorite riffs is famously (or infamously, depending on who you ask), a Wisconsin old fashioned, which swaps the bourbon for brandy and adds a muddled orange, cherry, and most blasphemously, several splashes of soda.

Another way to completely transform an old fashioned — without using soda — is by mixing it with tequila. A Oaxaca old fashioned is made with reposado tequila, mezcal, agave, and Angostura bitters, which results in a smoky, sharp bite in every sip. My version omits the mezcal and swaps in mole bitters, yielding a smooth but ever-so-slightly spicy bite that lingers on the palate. It's a good way to enjoy the silky-sweet flavors of reposado while still infusing it with flavor, all in a cocktail you can enjoy before, during, or after a spicy Mexican-inspired dinner.

Like a classic old fashioned, this cocktail needs very few ingredients. First, grab a reposado tequila, which is amber in color with a more caramel-forward flavor than tequila blanco. Then, grab a bottle of agave, usually located near the honey, and a bottle of mole bitters. To garnish, use a dehydrated orange or simply add a fresh orange peel.

Add a large ice cube to a rocks glass.

Add the tequila, agave nectar, and mole bitters to the glass.

Stir until chilled, about 15 seconds.

Garnish with a dried orange slice.

Serve the tequila old fashioned.

• Chicken Verde Tacos Recipe
• Loaded Chili-Lime Chicken Nachos Recipe
• 3-Chile Beef Flautas Recipe
• Crispy Baked Chicken Chalupas Recipe
• Seasame-Crusted Fish Tacos With Spicy Cabbage Slaw Recipe

Explaining mole bitters best begins by explaining mole. Mole is Spanish for "sauce" or "mixture" and is a term broadly used to describe sauces in Mexican cuisine — one of the most recognizable examples being guacamole, a derivative of the Spanish words for "avocado" and "sauce." Mole, as a dish, comes in many forms but is usually a semi-spicy, semi-sweet sauce that coats chicken, beef, vegetables, or tortillas. The sauce is often made up of chiles, chocolate, cinnamon, and a thickener like bread or nuts, and it is thick and deeply flavorful, much more so than a salsa. It's also generally served warm, further differentiating it from its chip-coating cousin.

Mole bitters, then, are a similarly intricate mixture of sweet and spicy flavors. Likewise, they can also differ greatly from brand to brand, but will generally embody the same essence of chiles and chocolate. If you can't find mole bitters or aren't sure you want to commit to a bottle, you can make this cocktail without them, but the cocktail will lack the distinct flavor of cinnamon and chiles. You could instead use Angostura, which has similar spices, or Aztec chocolate bitters for something more rich and dessert-like.

You can make a tequila old fashioned without reposado — you can make this with a different tequila, but it will completely change the nature of the cocktail. Don't try to substitute tequila reposado with tequila blanco, which has a much more crisp, acidic, and herbal flavor. It's astringent in comparison and works better when mixed with citrus rather than drunk over ice (unless it's a sipping tequila, but it still wouldn't work well here). Instead, swap for tequila añejo, which is similarly deep and toasted in flavor as the reposado is, but with an even more pronounced, spiced flavor and peppery finish.

You can also make a version of this old fashioned with other spirits that are similar to reposado or añejo. You can use bourbon for a sweet, smooth version, or rye whisky for a sharper, more spiced finish. Both of these, while not quite the same flavor as tequila, will have similar notes of caramel and a toasted finish that pairs well with mole bitters and even agave.

• Wisconsin-Style Old Fashioned Recipe
• Smooth Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe
• Spiced Chai Old Fashioned Recipe
• Smoked Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe
• Watermelon Old Fashioned Drink Recipe