Spend last night at an epic (10 dishes!) dinner thrown by the good folks at Don Julio Tequila (reviews here), showing off how Don Julio products work as a cocktail recipe component — and how those cocktails fit with food (turns out, quite well). Not a bad cocktail among the bunch — though the fan favorite was the first one, the spicy/sweet/savory Don Julio Caesar — and I was quite partial to the 1942 Spicy Cacao, a chocolate/cinnamon/tequila dessert drink that really brought out the best flavors of Don Julio’s 1942 special edition bottling.

Though mixologist Brandon Skaggs had a penchant for calling all of his creations “easy” and “simple,” to be honest they’re all pretty labor intensive to make at home. Instead, check them out at Cortez in San Francisco so Skaggs can do the dirty work for you. Lazier drinkers might do like we did at the end of the evening and just enjoy a snifter of the 1942 unembellished instead.

Thanks to the good folks at Don Julio for throwing the event!

Don Julio Caesar
1 ½ ounces Tequila Don Julio Blanco
1 pinch of fresh cilantro
1 jalapeño pepper sliced and seeded
½ ounce fresh lime juice
½ ounce Grand Marnier
¼ ounce agave syrup
1 whole jalapeño for garnish

Preparation:
1. Add Tequila Don Julio Blanco, Grand Marnier, cilantro, 6 jalapeño slices, and lime juice into a Boston shaker.
2. Muddle well and add agave syrup.
3. Shake well and strain into a highball glass and garnish with a jalapeño.

Ideal Serving Glass:
Highball glass

Yield:
1 drink

The Southern Belle
1 ½ ounces Tequila Don Julio Reposado
½ ounce red Vermouth
½ ounce of fresh lemon juice
6 fresh basil slices
½ ounce simple syrup
2 dashes of peach bitters
Lime wedge for garnish
Ice

Preparation:
1. Add Tequila Don Julio Reposado, red Vermouth, lemon juice, basil and simple syrup into a Boston shaker.
2. Muddle ingredients well, add peach bitters and stir.
3. Strain into short glass with ice and garnish with a lime wedge.

Ideal Serving Glass:
Short glass

Yield:
1 drink

Fall and Summer
1 ½ ounces Tequila Don Julio Añejo
½ ounce fig preserves
½ ounce orange juice
½ ounce ginger syrup (recipe follows)
5 leaves of fresh rosemary

Preparation:
1. Add Tequila Don Julio Añejo, orange juice, fig preserves, and rosemary leaves into a Boston shaker.
2. Muddle well and add ginger syrup.
3. Shake well, strain into highball glass and garnish with rosemary sprig.

Ginger Syrup
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
½ cup water

Preparation:
1. Bring 1 part water to a boil and dissolve 2 parts sugar into boiling water.
2. Once the sugar is dissolved completely, remove the pan from the heat
3. Allow to cool completely. Can be prepared one day ahead.
4. Finely chop ginger root and place in a mesh strainer. Pour simple syrup over the top and muddle the ginger through the strainer creating concentrated ginger-simple syrup.

Ideal Serving Glass:
Highball glass

Yield:
1 drink

1942 Spicy Cacao
1 ½ ounces Tequila Don Julio 1942
Chocolate-cream mixture (recipe follows)
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
3 ounces steamed milk
dash of chili powder for garnish

Preparation
1. Add Tequila Don Julio 1942, fresh ginger, and chocolate-cream mixture into a martini glass.
2. Top drink off with steamed milk and garnish with chili powder.

Chocolate-Cream Mix
Ingredients:
3 ounces of Vosges Red Fire Bar
2 ounces cream
2 vanilla beans
2-3 chiles
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Preparation:

1. Melt chocolate with cream in a saucepan. Add chilies, vanilla beans, and cayenne. Cook for 3-4 minutes and remove from heat.

Ideal Serving Glass:
Martini glass

Yield:
1 drink