tequila

Richard Betts, formerly a sommelier, is the founder of Sombra Mezcal. We chat with him about the mezcal business.

Bacardi adds Patrón tequila to its enormous roster of spirits. Meanwhile, shares for José Cuervo tequila have risen since this buyout.

Adam Levine and Sammy Hagar have teamed up to launch the world's first mezquila. That's right, mezcal and tequila together at last in one happy bottle.

Can Irish people drink tequila like they mean it? No salt, no lime, no sangrita, no excuses. Just straight Mexican gold (or silver). Let's watch!

I have never been a dirty martini drinker. In fact, it’s probably the last drink I would think to order off a menu since, in many instances, it’s not a drink most bartenders can get creative with. However, the dirty martini took on a new life for me at the newly opened restaurant-meets-marketplace Sunday in Brooklyn,…

I’ve rarely been one for coffee after a meal, though an affogato is always welcome. An amaro seems to have the same effect of quelling any after-dinner lull, without the pickup. For me, a drier coffee cocktail to start a meal — such as a Negroni or Manhattan variation — is more appealing, though surprisingly hard to…

Around this time in the summer, I relish the opportunity to slice up a ripe tomato, give it a dash of salt and just indulge in each juicy bite. Opening a can of tomato juice triggers the opposite reaction and, by virtue, I’ve never taken much pleasure in the traditional Bloody Mary. For Larry Rice, cocktail consultant at Dos…

“If it grows together, it goes together” is often a mantra for pairing flavors, and the relationship between chili peppers and agave is no different. There is something unexpected and delightful about a cocktail that has a lingering spiciness to contrast with its sweetness, which is perhaps why spicy cocktails have grown so popular over the…

Summer is rosé season! This is your cue to make a very unsubtle seismic shift in drinking habits. Put down the brown liquor and heady Riojas and fill your refrigerator with blissful rosés from France, New Zealand, the Hamptons and more. Sipping chilled rosé all day long never gets old, but if you’re looking for…

Everyone loves a secret. An unmarked door leading to a hidden clubhouse, for example — especially one where tequila and tacos are in high supply. Before you could walk through a pay phone in a hot-dog stand to get cocktails and every other bar called itself a speakeasy, La Esquina caught the imagination of in-the-know…

Jeffrey Morgenthaler is Food Republic’s contributing cocktail editor and the author of the column Easy Drinking. He currently manages the bars Clyde Common and Pépé Le Moko in Portland, Oregon, and is the author of The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique. I would assume that anyone reading this column is a fairly well-versed fan of all things…

Mexico is steeped in many traditions. As lost loved ones are celebrated each year on the Day of the Dead, why not also pay homage to the tradition of sharing tequila in sizable quantities? Perhaps one of the best ways to utilize your tequila of choice is by whipping up what could be thought of as the margarita’s bitter…

Most people can agree that tequila is changing. No longer perceived as mere fuel for frat parties and spring breaks, the spirit is gaining respect as one that can be sipped and appreciated. But with this shift in perception comes a new image, the vanguards of which are a pretty highfalutin bunch. Hip-hop moguls, leading…

Ready the limes: It’s tequila time! Cinco de Mayo may conjur up ideas of the perfect frosty margarita, but let’s face it: There are better other things to do with this powerful and delicious spirit. We bring you 20 alternatives to the traditional margarita, because we know you know how to make one already. Celebrate…

Welcome to Craft Beer & Spirits Week, when we take a look at some of the passionate producers, bars and people helping make our world a more spirited place.In my book, How the Gringos Stole Tequila, I address just how tequila managed to become Mexico’s most iconic liquid export. Think about it: Tequila is just one…

At Austin, Texas, restaurant La Condesa, the margarita is made with a tobacco-leaf-infused reposado tequila, imparting notes of cedar, spice and pepper to the cocktail. Grilled pineapple and lemon keep this robust flavor in check with their natural sweetness and accent of bright citrus — though the bartenders leave the char from the fire on the…

As winter marches on, it’s important to look forward to warmer months through the lens of an upbeat, summery cocktail. The new Tijuana Picnic on NYC's Lower East Side, founded by the same team behind Acme and Indochine, exhibits a nontraditional take on Mexican through head bartender Jim Kearns’s use of Latin spirits in an array of…

As the colder months set in, warming up with a sturdy, stirred drink seems spot-on. However, tequila is not the first spirit that comes to mind for most, even after barmen like Phil Ward of Mayahuel — the first tequila/mezcal cocktail bar in NYC — helped introduce more of the American public to the incredible…

The idea that cocktails could “cure what ails you” was once taken far more seriously. Local pharmacists in the mid-1800’s often healed with the aide of spirits like Chartreuse or Peychaud’s Bitters, taking advantage of their herbal remedies. At Justus Drugstore in Smithville, MO, this pharmacy and soda fountain turned farm-to-table restaurant packs its bar with…

Walking into Russ & Daughters, the world-famous appetizing shop operating since 1923 in Manhattan's Lower East Side, is an experience unlike any other. The glass cases are filled with everything from caviar to smoked fish to bagels and sweets. Their new café, located a few blocks from the shop, seamlessly bridges the old-world, neighborhood feel and delicious…

Your first experience with tequila probably involved shots, preceded by salt licked sloppily from the back of your hand, and a wedge of lime for biting down on afterward. Now that you’re all grown up, of course, you know that tequila doesn’t have to be this way. And, actually, it shouldn’t be. Mexico’s most famous…

New taco spot alert for all food-lovers in Portland (so, pretty much everyone in Portland)! El Paso-influenced Stella Taco is officially open and slinging Oregon lamb neck barbacoa, juicy brined pollo asado and local brisket tacos to the hungry masses. Best of all, they have a daily special frozen cocktail. On today's menu: the sweet,…

Cocktails often make use of bright colors to entice onlookers from across the room, while also providing insight into its flavor profile. That's precisely why sending a traditional Queens Park Swizzle out from the bar on a hot day can result in the entire room suddenly requesting the colorful, ice-filled drink. At times, bartenders enjoy tricking the…

Wine has its sommeliers. So, naturally, mezcal has its mezcaliers. As more and more people discover tequila’s older, smokier cousin, they’ll need someone to help them navigate the growing body of mezcals available on this side of the border. Jen Queen is the latest person certified to do just that. As principal bartender at San…

Know what's fun? Tweed jackets and gin and tonics. Know what's even more fun? Justifying both with The Preppy Cookbook, a fun little tome of homestyle classics, party snacks, better bar food and the cocktails you need to know how to make if you're going to wear that ascot all over the place. First up,…

Happy National Tequila Day! And we thought we were done "for a while" after Cinco de Mayo. But enough people informed us that July 24th is indeed the official day for Americans to celebrate one of a million we love about Mexico's food and drink culture — maybe the biggest one, in fact — so…