New Ancho Reyes Verde Is an Intriguing Addition to Your Home Bar

I remember the first time I was involved in planning and executing a Thanksgiving dinner. One year in college, some friends and I decided to rent a cabin at Lake Tahoe instead of heading home for the long holiday weekend. Since we were from all over the country, the trip back for a family meal seemed like it would be more trouble than it was worth, plus we figured cramming a dozen people into a ski chalet condo rental would be more fun, anyway.

Still, we were nostalgic for a least a modicum of Thanksgiving tradition, so we ran down to Safeway to buy a turkey at the last minute. One member of our crew fancied himself as a good cook and promised he had a recipe for Mexicali turkey we would love. We deputized him to take over the kitchen and watched as he shopped for easily six dozen limes and an extra fifth of tequila to “marinate” the bird.

Maybe we didn’t pay enough attention to the time and temp, or maybe we might have been doing marinade shots and just didn’t care, but the bird ended up pretty much like this one from the Griswold family Christmas meal. It ended up so dry and salty we took to daring each other to do tequila shots with turkey chasers.

What stirred up this amusing memory to me was my first taste of a new liquor product that came across my desk for review, Ancho Reyes Verde Chile Liqueur. Not that it was nearly as bad as that turkey or anything, but I was stimulated by the idea of another Mexicali Thanksgiving thanks to the intense green pepper flavors of this new Ancho Reyes product. I’ve been a fan of the original smokier red chile version of Ancho Reyes for years. It packs the heat of those syrupy sweet cinnamon shooters that dominate the bars of Lower Broad, but instead of cloying spice, the heat comes from authentic ancho and poblano peppers grown in Puebla, Mexico.

The same way that red peppers are usually just more mature versions of green peppers, Ancho Reyes Verde is made from those same anchos and poblanos harvested while they are still green on the vine. The resulting distilled spirit is more vegetal and a little less smoky than the red, but still demonstrates the lovely roasted character of its older sibling. You could drink it as a shot or sip it if you really like an aggressive experience, but I find it is much better as an ingredient in cocktails.

Add a quarter-ounce to a traditional margarita to add deep levels of nuanced flavors to the citrus and salt of that cocktail or spice up a Bloody Mary with a layer of heat that will be the secret ingredient your tailgate buddies will never figure out. If you need a few more ideas to spice up your Thanksgiving weekend cocktail game, pick up a bottle and try one of these recipes, courtesy of Ancho Reyes. ¡Salud!

Verde Spicy Margarita

Ingredients

1.5 PARTS Milagro Silver Tequila

1 PART Ancho Reyes Verde

0.75 PART fresh squeezed lime juice

0.25 PART agave nectar

Prepare

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, add ice, shake hard and strain over fresh ice into a rocks glass with a half-salted rim. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Ancho Verde Daiquiri

Ingredients

2 PARTS Ancho Reyes Verde

1 PART fresh squeezed lime juice

.5 PART rich simple syrup (2:1 Sugar: Water)

Prepare

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, add ice, shake hard and strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Piña Spritz

Ingredients

2 PARTS Ancho Reyes Verde

2 PARTS Jarritos pineapple soda or similar

1.5 PARTS fresh pineapple juice

0.5 PART fresh squeezed lime juice

Small pinch of salt

Prepare

Add all ingredients to a Collins glass, stir gently to incorporate the salt, add ice. Garnish with a lime wheel and a pineapple slice.