Friday Night Cocktail: Tequila Martinez
September 2, 2011 
2 Comments
I’m recently back from vacation in the Pacific Northwest, where I had the chance to try these Bittermens “Hopped Grapefruit” bitters at Liberty in Seattle. (Joel, our bartender that evening, was kind enough to both use them in a drink and let me sample them on their own.) I was already familiar with the Bittermens line from eGullet, and have their Xocolatl Mole Bitters, and I was no less impressed by the grapefruit variety.
I had to have a bottle.
Luckily, after Seattle, we moved on to Vancouver, which has Gourmet Warehouse, a store that carries a wide variety of interesting culinary ingredients. After a long trek down East Hastings St. (through the infamous Downtown Eastside), it was like entering a culinary wonderland: it’s the only store I’ve ever been to that has open shelves of modernist chemicals like sodium alginate, calcium gluconate lactate and gum tragacanth. They also stock a wide array of bitters from Bittermens, Fee Brothers and Victoria Spirits. I was lucky to escape with my wallet intact!
The label on the Hopped Grapefruit bitters suggests using them in short tequila drinks or long gin drinks, so once I got them home, I started thinking about how I wanted to try them out. I decided on a tequila variation of the Martinez, one of my favourite gin cocktails. There are a few tequila versions of this drink floating around, but I approached my version through direct substitutions. It was an absolute winner.
How to make a Tequila Martinez
- 2 oz. reposado tequila (I used 7 Leguas)
- 0.75 oz. Martini Bianco vermouth
- 1 tsp. Cointreau
- 15 drops Bittermens Hopped Grapefruit bitters
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass, fill with ice, stir for 30-45 seconds, then strain into a chilled glass.
I haven’t tried the hopped grapefruit yet but I’m really enjoying the Twisted & Bitter orange. There’s a floral undertone that sets them apart from the other orange bitters I have. It’s subtle but nice in some drinks. I particularly like them in a martini.
I haven’t tried the Twisted & Bitter yet, beyond just smelling and tasting them on their own. They definitely have a floral quality to them. I’m looking forward to having them in something soon. Sadly, I’m out of stock on dry vermouth at the moment, so no Martinis.