The toreador made its debut in 1937, in Billy Tarling’s Café Royal Bar Book – a full 16 years before the margarita first appeared in print (it appears alongside a very margarita-like recipe, though, called a picador – so the debate around the margarita’s origin continues.) The bartender who brought the toreador to my attention was agave expert Deano Moncrieffe, owner of London’s popular Hacha tequila bars and creator of the viral crystal-clear Mirror Margarita.
Moncrieffe recommends using a lightly aged reposado tequila “because the apricot really brings out the tequila’s notes of dried fruit and sweet spice.” But a crisp blanco such as Ocho also works. My tip for the apricot brandy would be the Lune D’Abricot by Merlet, a French, family-owned company that makes fabulous cognac and liqueurs (try a splash in a cognac-based sidecar). The author of Tequila: A Tasting Course, Millie Milliken, suggests adding a dash of Angostura Bitters to the mix, too. Or garnishing with a thyme sprig “to add some herbal and more earthy aromas.”
As the toreador proves, changing up the sweetening agent is a great way to give a Margarita a fresh twist. Simply swapping your Cointreau for a different brand of orange (or citrus) liqueur brings a subtle new flavor profile that can have a big impact.
I love the triple sec by London craft distiller Sacred – it’s a starburst of zestiness, with a fragrant, juicy finish that comes from hand-cut oranges and Amalfi lemon peels. The more floral Flor de Azar Orange Blossom Liqueur is made in Mexico from an exotic array of botanicals, including several types of citrus, plus orange blossom and tuberose.
The lesser-known Cointreau Noir, which is based on a Cointreau recipe from the early 1900s, is also fabulous. Made from a blend of classic triple sec and Remy Cointreau cognac infused with walnuts and almonds, it has notes of bitter orange peel and caramelised nuts that give a margarita real class.
Earlier this year, Cointreau also very quietly launched Cointreau Citrus Series, a new range of limited-edition citrus distillates starting with Cointreau Corsican Pomelo. At 40 percent this product is technically more spirit than liqueur – but if you spliced it with a bit of sugar syrup it would do the job of triple sec very well. Look out for a new variety launching in the new year.
The brandy-based Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao is a orange curaçao in the old style – silky and rich with a tongue-tingling bitterness from curaçao oranges, that gives way to some very subtle notes of prune, lemon and vanilla. (The brand also does a lesser-spotted yuzu variety, that’s not nearly as good, sadly, but still rather a fun flex).
Campari can also be very good for giving a margarita an Italianate hit of bitter orange and a pretty splash of color. Just make your regular margarita with 5ml less of triple sec and add 5-10ml of Campari.
A classic Tommy’s margarita, of course, is made without any orange liqueur at all – instead it’s sweetened with agave syrup, which has a slightly more caramelized sweetness than a sugar-based triple sec. The Tommy’s was invented in the eighties at Tommy’s bar in San Francisco – and it remains for many agave purists the ultimate take on the drink. If you find yourself missing the citrus, just add a few dashes of Angostura Orange Bitters or the splendidly picante Regan’s Orange Bitters No.6.
The Toreador
- – 50ml blanco or reposado tequila
- – 20ml apricot brandy (I used Merlet Lune d’Abricot – depending on the sweetness of the brand you may want to tweak this by 5ml)
- – 25ml freshly squeezed lime juice
Glass: cocktail or ice-filled rocks
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Garnish: none
Method: shake with ice and strain