El Diablo
Tequila, crème de cassis, lime and ginger beer. Trader Vic's 1946 'Mexican El Diablo' — a tequila highball with blackcurrant depth and ginger heat.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Fill a highball glass with ice.
Add the tequila, crème de cassis and lime juice.
Top with cold ginger beer and stir gently.
Garnish with a lime wedge.
A thoughtful finish
- Cassis is sweet; keep it at half an ounce and let the lime and ginger carry the drink.
- Ginger beer makes the modern, spicier version; ginger ale is Vic's original and gentler. Both are correct.
- Some bars shake the tequila, cassis and lime and strain over ice before topping, which integrates the cassis better. Worth the extra step.
Common mistakes
- Too much cassis — it goes purple and sweet fast.
- Bottled lime juice. The fresh acid is what balances the blackcurrant.
- Drowning it in ginger beer. Three ounces is a top, not a mixer.
A few good questions.
What does El Diablo taste like?
A tequila mule with blackcurrant: ginger heat, lime, the agave's pepper, and a dark fruit sweetness underneath. It is a surprisingly complex highball.
What is crème de cassis?
Blackcurrant liqueur, from Burgundy originally, around 16 to 20% ABV and quite sweet. It is the Kir ingredient.
Ginger beer or ginger ale?
Ginger beer for the modern version, with real heat; ginger ale for the 1946 original, which is softer. Use what you like.
Why 'El Diablo'?
Trader Vic liked a dramatic name. There is nothing diabolical about it beyond the colour.
Variations
- Moscow Mule — Vodka, lime and ginger beer.
- Dark and Stormy — Dark rum and ginger beer.
- Paloma — Tequila, lime and grapefruit soda.
- Kir — White wine and crème de cassis.
Where it comes from
1946 · Oakland, California · Victor 'Trader Vic' Bergeron · Trader Vic's
The El Diablo appears in Trader Vic’s Book of Food and Drink of 1946 as the Mexican El Diablo: tequila, crème de cassis, lime and ginger ale, built in a tall glass. It is one of the earliest tequila cocktails in an American bar book, from a period when tequila was still an oddity outside the border states, and Vic’s instinct to pair it with blackcurrant and ginger has held up better than most of his tequila experiments. Modern bars use ginger beer for more heat, and the drink had a revival in the 2000s as bartenders rediscovered Bergeron’s books.
Sources
- Victor Bergeron, Trader Vic's Book of Food and Drink, 1946 (book)
- Jeff Berry, Beachbum Berry Remixed, 2010 (book)
- David Wondrich, Imbibe!, 2015 (book)
Strength. About 1.17 US standard drinks at an estimated 11.1% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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