The Cocktail Quarterly, Vol. XII

To cool down this summer, you must (paradoxically) go toward the heat.

Meaning: go south.  

Here, under sweltering skies, you’ll discover the keys to a great summer drink: Keep things nice and fresh. Use (natch) plenty of ice. Sweetness and spice can and should co-exist.

Also, be adventurous. A margarita isn’t your only choice.

You can find proof (high-proof, in fact) in The Cocktail Quarterly, Vol. XII: South of the Border edition, produced in partnership with our friends at Don Julio.

Besides making a complex, ultra-premium spirit that’s great for sipping, Don Julio also plays well as a base for some of our favorite cocktails. You can put it in a Mule. A Manhattan. A Paloma — the lesser known Mexican cocktail, but every bit as tasty as a margarita.

Heck, you can even do up a good Tequila Old Fashioned if you know how to mix it right.

Herein, we’ve got those four recipes along with a few left turns involving mezcal, rum and cachaca, as designed by some of the finest drink slingers in the country.

Good reasons to celebrate the heat, the lot of them.

Manzanita Mule
Ben Scorah

1½ oz Don Julio™ Tequila Blanco
1 oz fresh apple juice
½ oz lemon juice
Splash of ginger beer

Combine all ingredients together in a shaker. Add ice and shake. Strain into a collins glass over fresh ice and top with a splash of ginger beer. Garnish with a skewered ginger candy.

Paloma Reposado

1½ oz Don Julio™ Reposado Tequila
2 oz grapefruit juice
Splash of lemon-lime soda
Grapefruit peel or lime slice garnish

Combine Don Julio® Reposado Tequila and grapefruit juice in an ice-filled collins glass. Top with a splash of lemon-lime soda. Garnish with a grapefruit peel or a lime slice. Salt rim optional.

One Night in Tijuana
Chris Reyes and Jorge Guzman, Temerario (NYC)

1½ oz mezcal
1 oz ginger beer
¾ oz lime juice
¾ oz Guava Fruit Purée
½ oz agave syrup
4 cucumber slices (reserve 1 for garnish)

Muddle the agave syrup and cucumber, then add remaining ingredients. Shake with ice, then strain into a chilled rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with a piece of candied ginger, a slice of cucumber and one pinch of ground chili.

Oaxacan Old Fashioned

1¼ oz Don Julio™ Tequila Reposado
¼ oz mezcal
1 bar spoon agave nectar
2 dashes aromatic bitters

Stir ingredients in a mixing glass over clean cubed and cracked ice until thoroughly chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with an orange peel.

Brazilian Margarita
Johnny Swet, The James (NYC)

2 oz cachaça
2 lime wedges
1 oz mango puree 
¾ oz of agave 
½ oz lime juice

In a tin muddle two lime wedges. Add mango puree, lime juice, agave and cachaça. Shake with ice and strain into a salted rocks glass with cubed ice, garnish with lime wedge and a dusting of piri piri chili powder.

Daiquiri +
Naren Young, Dante (NYC)

2 oz white rum
¾ oz  lime juice
¾ oz  salted lime cordial (see directions below)
½ bar spoon lime curd

Shake and fine strain. Garnish with a dehydrated lime wheel. If you’re not a tequila drinker, you may want to replace tequila in a margarita with rum (essentially creating a salted daiquiri).

Salted Lime Cordial
Combine one cup fresh lime juice, ⅔ cups of super fine sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a blender. Blend until combined. Will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Añejo Manhattan

1¼ oz Don Julio™ Añejo Tequila
½ oz sweet vermouth
1 dash cocktail bitters
Orange twist

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass, then add large ice cubes. Stir until cold, keeping viscosity intact. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with an orange twist.

Make The Right Move™ — Please Enjoy Responsibly