Rosita Cocktail: A delicious Mexican take on the Negroni
It can be so easy to fall back on your favourite tried and tested cocktails, especially when pairing them with a fine cigar. When smoking the Patina Habano Copper Corona Gorda for the first time, I could easily have gone straight for my signature Espresso Martini, but I wanted something a little different that would compliment it perfectly. Looking up the details of the cigar and quoted flavours, I decided that a tequila base would be a good starting point.
My first thought was a Margarita or Tequila Sunrise, but I feared the heavy amount of citrus might compete with the cigar or even overpower it. I wanted something with a hint of citrus but with more emphasis on berry fruits. It was at this point a Negroni came to mind. I started to wonder if there was a version of this classic cocktail with tequila rather than gin as its base spirit, and the answer was “of course there is.” It is called the Rosita Cocktail.
The choice of tequila in my cabinet is very limited compared to my collection of gins, but I did have a few bottles at my disposal. I plumped for the Cazcabel. Picking up the Campari and ice balls on my way back through to mix up the Rosita Cocktail, I got to thinking about the different proportions of gin, Campari and vermouth in the traditional Negroni. Surely similar principles could be used to adjust this recipe to ensure I got it perfect first time round.
This required me to have a pre-cocktail taste of the tequila in order to get a feel for its flavour notes. There was a gentle hint of smokiness. It had a subtle amount of sweetness, which the Doubonnet would enhance further. The aftertaste was very clean and almost creamy, which would be balanced by the lightly herbal nature of the Noilly Prat. I decided that the Rosita Cocktail needed a little more tequila in my version than the recipe said.
Having mixed it up, I was ready to smoke the Patina Habano Copper Corona Gorda with Madeleine whilst sipping my cocktail. As expected, the Rosita Cocktail was the perfect drink to pair with the cigar and good conversation. If you want to read more about the Patina cigar that I smoked with this cocktail click here. You will find the cocktail recipe below if you want to mix one up for yourself.
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ROSITA COCKTAIL RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
2 measures silver tequila
1 measure Campari
½ measure dry vermouth
½ measure sweet red vermouth
Orange zest to garnish
METHOD
Put an ice ball into a large rocks or Old Fashioned glass and pour the tequila, Campari and vermouths in and stir well. Squeeze a generous zest of orange over the cocktail and drop it in.
