El Diablo Cocktail

By Steve Kilcullen Jump to Recipe

Devilishly delicious, the El Diablo cocktail is a sweet and spicy sip.

The human brain is a funny thing. At least mine is. I’ll hear a word, phrase or name, and there’s a strong chance that my association with it is going to feel totally random, or unrelated. For example, I saw what tonight’s drink was called, the El Diablo, and immediately my thoughts drifted to non sequitur land.

In the late 1990s, I spent an entire summer enjoying the irreverent charms of a computer game called The Curse of Monkey Island, the third entry in a beloved series of “point-and-click” adventures. While you play the ever-hapless pirate Guybrush Threepwood, you bounce around the Caribbean solving puzzles and dueling with banjos, amongst other zany things. One such destination is called Puerto Pollo on Plunder Island, where legend tells of a massive monstrous creature, known as El Pollo Diablo… The Devil Chicken. And, after poor Guybrush is tarred and feathered, he of course is mistaken for the poultry demon.

So as I peruse our cocktail’s history, that’s what’s running through my mind… Devil chickens and slightly clueless buccaneers.

I should probably make myself a drink.

Who Invented The El Diablo Cocktail?

The El Diablo has been around since the 1940s. It is said to have been first invented in Tijuana, Mexico by a bartender named Don Javier Delgado Corona. American tourists soon fell in love with what was originally a rum-based drink, bringing the recipe back to the States with them. Soon after, in 1946, Vic Bergeron of the legendary Trader Vic’s in California began to whip up his own version, which swapped out the rum for tequila. Ol’ Vic was calling his take the Mexican El Diablo, but by the 1960s and 70s, his recipe books had shortened the name to what it is today.

What Is The Best Tequila To Use In An El Diablo?

Many mixed drinks that call for tequila often use a blanco, or white variety. The alcohol is clear in color, and a bottle of either JAJA or Cazadores is a fine choice. The JAJA has a creamy texture, while the Cazadores is peppery and smooth. For this recipe, we recommend going with an aged reposado, which will make your cocktail a more complex and spicy experience. While you can easily spend hundreds of dollars on a single bottle of a mind-blowing spirit, the two brands I’ve mentioned above are neither expensive, nor of low quality.

WHAT GLASSWARE AND GARNISH IS USED?

Chill a tall and slender highball or collins glass and fill it with ice. You’ll notice the slim shape of your glassware will keep your ice cubes from melting too fast. Garnish the rim with a lime wheel and pop a maraschino cherry on top.

CAN THIS DRINK BE SERVED IN A LAYERED PRESENTATION?

Yes, you can prepare this drink in layers if you like, by first adding the tequila to your glass, then the lime, ginger beer and finish by floating the crème de cassis on top.

Other Trader-Vic-Inspired Concoctions Worth Trying

Trader Vic’s is an iconic name in the cocktail world, and even more so in the Tiki realm. Victor Bergeron’s famous chain of bars even gets name-checked in Warren Zevon’s classic hit “Werewolves of London”. Check out some of these cocktails that he created, or which inspired him to craft his own version.

• Matador – A drink that has stood the test of time for over 90 years.
• Suffering Bastard – This WWII-era hangover cure was Bergeron’s muse for his own version.
• Mai Tai – Quite possibly the most famous Tiki drink in existence.
• Piña Colada – This is what that werewolf was drinking at Trader Vic’s. And his hair was perfect.