Chocolate Tequila Alexander
Dry shake ∙ 5 min ∙ 22.1% ABV ∙
The Chocolate Tequila Alexander shakes chocolate cream liqueur, tequila añejo and egg white — the Brandy Alexander in agave. Rich cocoa coats the palate first, the aged tequila's oak and pepper surfacing underneath, with a silky, cloud-like texture from the egg white finishing dry rather than sweet.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Chocolate cream liqueur 45 mlTequila añejo 45 mlEgg white 10 ml
- Strain back into the shaker
- Dry shake (without ice)
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish with a chocolate piece
Tips
- Shake with ice first, then strain back into the empty shaker and dry shake for 15-20 seconds — the pasteurised egg white emulsifies best once the drink is already cold.
- Use a full double shake: shake the equal-parts liqueur and añejo tequila hard with ice for 12-15 seconds to chill and dilute properly, since the rich cream liqueur needs strong agitation to avoid a syrupy texture.
- Fine-strain into the chilled coupe to catch any ice shards and leave a smooth, silky foam cap on the surface.
- Grate or shave the chocolate garnish directly over the foam right before serving so it sits on top rather than sinking into the drink.
History
The Chocolate Tequila Alexander is a modern twist on the Alexander, a cocktail dating to the early 20th century that originally combined gin, creme de cacao, and cream. The Alexander first appeared in print in Hugo Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks, though its exact creation date and inventor are disputed. One widely repeated account credits bartender Troy Alexander at Rector's, a New York City restaurant, with creating the drink for a dinner celebrating an advertising campaign built around the fictional character Phoebe Snow, promoting a railway's clean-burning anthracite coal. Other stories claim the cocktail honored baseball pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, or was named for Russian tsar Alexander II, or for critic Alexander Woollcott. A brandy-based version, now known as the Brandy Alexander, emerged roughly two decades later and eventually eclipsed the original gin recipe in popularity; some accounts tie this substitution to the 1922 London wedding of Princess Mary and Viscount Lascelles, though this too is disputed. The Chocolate Tequila Alexander departs from this lineage by swapping in tequila for the traditional gin or brandy base and using a chocolate liqueur in place of creme de cacao, giving the classic creamy dessert cocktail an agave-forward character.
FAQ
What is in a Chocolate Tequila Alexander?
Chocolate cream liqueur, tequila añejo, and egg white, double-shaken and strained into a coupe glass with a chocolate garnish. The tequila añejo gives it a warmer, oakier backbone than the brandy or gin used in a classic Alexander.
What is in the Alexander cocktail?
A classic Alexander is made of a base spirit, a cream or chocolate liqueur, and cream, shaken and served up. This version replaces the base spirit with tequila añejo and the cream with egg white, giving a lighter, frothier texture than the traditional cream-based build.
How do you make an Alexander cocktail?
A classic Alexander is shaken with a base spirit, a chocolate or cream liqueur, and cream, then strained into a glass. This recipe uses a double shake instead, shaking the tequila añejo, chocolate cream liqueur and egg white with ice to chill, then straining the liquid back into the empty shaker and shaking again without ice to build the foam, before straining into a coupe.
Is a Chocolate Tequila Alexander shaken or stirred?
Shaken, using a double shake technique. It is shaken with ice first to chill and dilute, then strained back into the empty shaker and shaken again without ice, which emulsifies the egg white into a stable foam before the final strain.
What glass is a Chocolate Tequila Alexander served in?
A coupe glass, garnished with a piece of chocolate.
What is the difference between a White Russian and a Brandy Alexander?
A White Russian is a built, not shaken, drink of vodka, coffee liqueur, and cream served over ice, while a Brandy Alexander is a shaken cocktail of brandy, chocolate or cream liqueur, and cream served up. Both are creamy and dessert-like, but the White Russian is coffee-forward and the Alexander is chocolate-forward.
What can I mix chocolate tequila with?
Chocolate liqueur pairs well with añejo tequila and egg white, as in this recipe, where the shaken egg white turns the mix into a light, frothy dessert drink rather than a heavy, syrupy one.
