Aztec
Stir ∙ 3 min ∙ 32.2% ABV ∙
The Aztec is a stirred bourbon cocktail built with Bénédictine, white crème de cacao, and a dash of hot pepper sauce, served up with an orange twist. Warm bourbon and honeyed spice open it, cocoa rounds the middle, and a flicker of chile heat lingers just behind the orange oil finish.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Stir all ingredients with ice: Bourbon 50 mlBénédictine D.O.M. liqueur 15 mlWhite Crème de Cacao 10 mlHot pepper sauce 1 dash
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Express flamed an orange twist over the cocktail, then use as garnish
Tips
- Stir the bourbon, Bénédictine, and crème de cacao with ice for 20-25 seconds only; over-diluting mutes the single dash of hot sauce and the herbal Bénédictine.
- Add the hot pepper sauce first, directly into the mixing glass, so it disperses evenly through the liquid rather than pooling on top of the ice.
- Strain into a chilled Martini glass only after it's been in the freezer at least 10 minutes, since this stirred drink has no ice to keep it cold.
- Express the orange twist over the surface to release its oils, then rub it around the rim before dropping it in as garnish.
History
This bourbon, Bénédictine, and white crème de cacao cocktail spiced with hot pepper sauce is an adaptation of the Aztec's Mark, a drink created by San Francisco bartender Neyah White at the restaurant Nopa. Accounts vary on the exact year of creation, with some placing it in 2005, though it gained wider recognition after bartender and writer Gaz Regan featured it in a 2007 San Francisco Chronicle article. White reportedly developed the drink from a spiked version of a spiced hot chocolate he had been serving at the bar, and its name references the Aztec civilization's association with chocolate and spice. This version streamlines the original by dropping the citrus garnish and serving it stirred rather than shaken.
