Booze of the Week: Desert Rose Tequila

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. – George Carlin

How often have you heard someone say they don’t like tequila? Probably almost as often as you’ve asked someone if they would like any, right?

I admit, tequila is an acquired taste. I didn’t like it either. But a recipe for a mixed drink I posted for my lavender liqueur (HERE) changed my mind. It was for a drink that used lavender liqueur, lime and tequila.

That recipe was called a Desert Flower. Boy was it good. Dangerous, but good.

So I began to think. If people don’t like the taste of tequila why not change it. That always seems to be the problem. Now I’m no distiller so I can’t alter it in the distillation but I certainly can add to it it after the fact.

So that is what I did. I have successfully infused regular tequila (not even the expensive stuff) with lots of floral and citrus notes to make something new. I call it Desert Rose.

This takes 3 weeks to infuse, but that’s not too long. Many infusions take longer. To counter some of the pucker-power of the tequila I also added some sugar and water. This wasn’t the same amount as regular liqueurs that I post, so this still has a lot of alcohol content. I’m not sure how much but I imagine somewhere around 30%.

I also “fortified” it with a small bottle of dark rum. The caramel flavours also help to mellow the “piney” taste of the tequila.

So treat this with respect.

Spring is here and the warmer weather won’t be too far behind so what better time than to go out and buy some tequila to turn into the star of your backyard gatherings? Remember you’re 3 week away from being able to serve it, although sitting a bit longer is recommended.

I started with 375 ml of tequila. That was a mistake. I would suggest that you double the recipe and use 750 ml of tequila. That way you’ll have 1.5 L  on hand to share when guests rave about your concoction!

I suggest serving it with soda and a limoncello or a similar citrus-based liqueur. Recipe for that is at the bottom. I made a quickie Límon liqueur that I posted previously. That link is HERE.

This isn’t my last foray into the flavouring of liquor other than vodka. Right now I’m infusing berries in gin. It will be posted in about 1 week. To find out about that one you'll have to come back.

Desert Rose Tequila Liquor

Time: 3 weeks  |  Makes about 750 ml

500 ml tequila

1/3 cup lavender blossoms, dried

1 tbsp calendula petals, dried

rind of 1 lime

50 ml dark rum

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

Place the tequila in a Mason jar. Add lavender blossoms, calendula and lime rind.

Let steep for 3 weeks. Strain through a moistened coffee filter in a sieve, reserving the botanicals.

Make a syrup from the sugar, water and reserved botanicals. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 3 minutes. Strain the syrup through a coffee filter.

Combine the syrup, infused tequila and rum and bottle. This will be better if allowed to age a further month.

Serving idea:

Fill an Old-Fashioned glass (one of the short ones...) with ice. 

Add:

1 oz Desert Rose 

1 oz Límon liqueur 

and top with soda water.
Voila!

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks?