El Diablo
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 13.4% ABV ∙
The El Diablo is a tequila highball built with crème de cassis, fresh lime juice, and ginger beer, shaken and topped in a tall glass. Ginger spice and tart lime lead, with a quiet blackcurrant sweetness from the cassis rounding the finish into something long and fizzy.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake the first 3 ingredients with ice: Tequila reposado 45 mlCrème de Cassis 15 mlLime juice 25 ml
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Top with Ginger beer and briefly stir
- Garnish with a lime wedge
Tips
- Shake the tequila, cassis, and lime first, then strain over fresh ice and top with ginger beer to keep its fizz.
- Use a reposado tequila, not blanco — the barrel notes hold up better against the cassis and ginger.
- Pour the ginger beer gently down the side of the glass last so it stays lively instead of going flat.
History
The El Diablo first appears in print as the "Mexican El Diablo" in Victor Bergeron's 1946 Trader Vic's Book of Food and Drink, where it is flagged as one of his original creations, and it turned up on his 1947 tiki menus as well. By the time it resurfaced in Trader Vic's 1968 Pacific Island Cookbook, the name had been shortened to simply El Diablo. Bergeron, the founder of the Trader Vic's tiki chain, is generally credited as its creator, and tiki historian Jeff Berry has suggested he was adapting an earlier rum-based drink called the Diablo into a tequila version. Some accounts, however, trace the drink instead to a bartender named Don Javier Delgado Corona in Tijuana during the 1940s, with the idea that American tourists carried a rum-based original north before Bergeron's tequila version took hold; this claimant version is popularized mainly by Diageo Bar Academy rather than cocktail historians. The drink largely disappeared from wider circulation after the 1950s, surfacing again in the 1960s at Bergeron's Mexican-themed Señor Pico restaurants, and remained a minor, rarely reprinted title for decades before its recent revival on modern cocktail menus.
FAQ
What is a Diablo drink?
A Diablo is a tequila highball built with crème de cassis, lime juice, and ginger beer or ginger ale, served long over ice. The name refers to the drink's spicy kick from the ginger beer, and the El Diablo is its best-known version.
What's in an El Diablo cocktail?
Tequila reposado, crème de cassis, fresh lime juice, and ginger beer, shaken and served in a tall glass with a lime wedge. The reposado's barrel notes anchor the drink against the tart lime and the dark-berry sweetness of the cassis.
What does an El Diablo cocktail taste like?
Sharp ginger spice and tart lime dominate the first sip, with the crème de cassis adding a subtle blackcurrant sweetness rather than heavy sugar. At about 13.4% ABV it drinks lighter and fizzier than a straight tequila cocktail, closer to a spiced, fruit-tinted ginger highball than a classic sour.
Is an El Diablo shaken or built?
The tequila, cassis, and lime are shaken together first, then strained over ice and topped with ginger beer. Shaking chills and blends the spirit and citrus properly; adding the ginger beer after keeps its carbonation instead of flattening it.
What glass is an El Diablo served in?
A Collins glass, filled with ice and garnished with a lime wedge, to hold the volume of ginger beer and keep the drink cold.
Is an El Diablo vegan?
Yes, an El Diablo is vegan, vegetarian, and lactose-free, since it's built entirely from tequila, cassis liqueur, lime juice, and ginger beer with no animal-derived ingredients.
