Ingredients
Sangrita
- 200 mltomato juice
- 100 mlfresh orange juice
- 50 mllime juice
- 1 tbspgrenadine or pomegranate juice
- 1 tsphot sauce, or chopped chilli
- 1 tspWorcestershire sauce
- salt
The drink
- 50 mlblanco tequila
- 100 mlsangrita, from above
- 100 mlgrapefruit soda, Squirt or Fresca
The rim
- chilli salt, or Tajín
- a lime wedge
Also
- plenty of ice
- a lime wedge and a cucumber spear, to garnish
To serve
- in a tall glass, very cold
Directions
- Combine the tomato juice, orange juice, lime, grenadine, hot sauce and Worcestershire. Use fresh orange and lime juice rather than bottled, since the whole drink is citrus-forward and it shows immediately.
- Season it with salt and taste. It should be sharply citric, savoury and clearly hot, with the chilli arriving at the back.
- Let it sit for an hour if you can, since the flavours settle. Now the tequila, which should be blanco. Use a blanco, an unaged tequila, rather than a reposado or añejo.
- Use one made from a hundred per cent agave, which will say so on the label. Now the rim, which is done first.
- Dip that edge into chilli salt or Tajín. Fill it genuinely full. A tall drink over two cubes goes warm and watery within minutes.
- Pour in the tequila, then the sangrita. Pour the soda gently down the side of the glass so the carbonation survives. Stir it once, gently, and no more. Garnish with a lime wedge and a cucumber spear.
- Serve it immediately, very cold. It should be long, sharp, savoury and faintly hot, and much more refreshing than tomato in a cocktail sounds.
Technique
- Traditional Jalisco sangrita contains no tomato and gets its colour from pomegranate.
- Squirt is the grapefruit soda normally used in Mexico.
- The cantarito is the close relative served in a clay cup.
Substitutions
- Any grapefruit soda in place of Squirt.
- Bottled sangrita, which is widely sold in Mexico.
Variations
- Made with the older tomato-free sangrita.
- Cantarito, served in a clay cup.
- With mezcal in place of tequila.
History
A Jalisco bar drink named for its blood-red colour, built from the sangrita normally sipped alongside tequila.
Frequently asked questions
What is Vampiro?
Vampiro is a cocktail from Mexico: tequila lengthened with spiced tomato sangrita and grapefruit soda, chile-salt rim. A Jalisco bar drink named for its blood-red colour, built from the sangrita normally sipped alongside tequila.
How long does Vampiro take to make?
Vampiro takes 10 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 1 tall drink. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Vampiro?
Yes, within limits. Any grapefruit soda in place of Squirt. Bottled sangrita, which is widely sold in Mexico.
What is the most important thing to get right in Vampiro?
Combine the tomato juice, orange juice, lime, grenadine, hot sauce and Worcestershire. Use fresh orange and lime juice rather than bottled, since the whole drink is citrus-forward and it shows immediately.
