Home recipes for traditional co*cktails that sub in agave (2024)

This undated image shows a Maestro Old Fashioned co*cktail from Mezcalito Brompton bar in London. Co-founder Oliver Castilla-Tristan does a twist on the classic Old Fashioned recipe of whiskey, sugar, angostura bitters and water. using anejo tequila, which is aged tequila. We use a bit of cacao liqueur. (AP Photo/Louise Dixon)

LONDON — Tequila-based margaritas and palomas have long been co*cktail-menu staples, but their base ingredient — agave — is working its way into other co*cktails for a modern twist on traditional drinks.

While tequila, made from the blue agave plant, is the best-known of the agave spirits, mezcal has also grown in popularity. It’s made from a wider variety of agaves across Mexico, and is roasted underground for a smokier flavor.

Alan Uresti Silva, U.K. brand ambassador for The Lost Explorer Mezcal, says that when he came to London from Mexico nine years ago, it was hard to find an agave co*cktail on a bar list aside from a margarita.

Longtime bartender Bobby Hiddleston, who co-founded London’s Swift co*cktail bars, agrees. Back then, he says, he wouldn’t have been able to sell a mezcal co*cktail. The change in attitude comes “off the shoulders of good quality tequila,” he says, adding that it’s great to see the agave category as a whole doing so well.

There’s more understanding today among bartenders about agave, says Elon Soddu, co-founder of Amaro bar, across town. There are also more variations of agave, which he says makes it easy to swap out almost anything in your traditional co*cktail for an agave alternative.

Both blanco tequilas (non-aged tequilas) and young, lighter-smoked mezcals have a bright grassiness or “green flavor” that works well with citrus, says Hiddleston. Uresti Silva adds that these savory vegetal notes can balance or replace a gin or vodka for something light and refreshing.

He also suggests using an anejo or extra anejo tequila or a smoky mezcal to replace a whiskey. An anejo tequila has been aged in an oak barrel between 1 and 3 years, while an extra anejo ages for a minimum of 3 years before being bottled.

Hiddleston says the aged agaves work well as a substitute for darker spirits such as brandy and cognacs, and particularly in stirred-down drinks with more vanilla and caramel notes coming through to bring a different flavor.

Here, five expert London bartenders offer up recipes that replace everyday spirits with agave alternatives. You can experiment at home with your own favorite brands.

NIGHTINGALE

Swift Shoreditch bar

For this agave spin on a martini, Hiddleston uses a reposado tequila (aged 2 months to 1 year in oak barrels). He says you can’t keep it as dry as you would a gin or vodka martini, and the key is to bolster the sweetness.

“We find using the blanco vermouth rather than a dry vermouth carries the flavor really well, and we just have a couple of little accessorizing things, orange bitters, almond,” he says.

Ingredients:

40ml (1.4 oz) Tapatio Reposado tequila

25ml (0.8 oz) Reus blanco vermouth