Banderilla

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (50 ratings)
  • Banderilla Image

    Banderilla

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Banderilla image

Glass:

Photographed in an Urban Bar Fluet Old Fashioned 34cl

Ingredients:
3⁄4 fl oz Del Maguey Vida Clásico Mezcal
3⁄4 fl oz Patrón Silver blanco tequila
3⁄4 fl oz Luxardo Apricot Albicocca Liqueur
3⁄4 fl oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
1⁄2 fl oz Bittersweet orange-red aperitivo
3 drop Saline solution (20g sea salt to 80g water) or merest pinch of s
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

  1. Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
  2. Prepare garnish of lime wedge.

How to make:

  1. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  2. STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably a large cube or chunk of block ice).

Garnish:

  1. Garnish with lime wedge on rim.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 8/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A riff on a Toreador with bittersweet mezcal and apricot notes.

View readers' comments

History:

Created by yours truly in January 2025. This mezcal-influenced riff on a classic Toreador (bullfighter) is named after the decorated darts (banderillas) bullfighters use during a bullfight. While the brutality of this 'sport' leads to many questioning its future, the Toreador cocktail thrives, hence my creation of this riff.

More cocktails by Simon Difford

Nutrition:

One serving of Banderilla contains 183 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.5 standard drinks
  • 18.79% alc./vol. (37.58° proof)
  • 21.2 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Doug James’ Avatar Doug James
11th June at 01:57
Such a refreshing and well balanced cocktail. Agave forward with a bright citrus and a pleasingly fruity apricot finish. I used Rothman & Winter Apricot Orchard Liqueur in place of the Luxardo brand. The Vago Elote is a more grassy Mezcal than smoky to my palate. I found the first few sips very good as listed although a bit ‘flat’ so I added 4 drops of grapefruit bitters and it was a game changer bridging the Aperol, Lime, and Apricot flavors perfectly. Definitely a new summer favorite!
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John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
17th September 2025 at 04:40
Delightful cocktail. It was perfectly balanced with no one ingredient overpowering another. Would definitely make again. Being that I am not a big fan of anything overly smoky, I would adjust the mezcal and tequilla for may tastes, but if you like smoky it is great.
2
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John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
17th September 2025 at 04:43
Once it is allowed to sit and breathe, the smoky flavour does lessen. Thank you Simon.
1
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1 reply
Calvin Grant’s Avatar Calvin Grant
17th August 2025 at 03:52
Tart crisp and refreshing. Apricot, lime and orangy Aperol pair well together. Out of tequila so I used a mildly smokey mezcal, Apaluz (agave durangensis) from Durango for both base spirits. Am thinking Rothman & Winter is not as sweet as Luxardo Apricot? Might try this again with 2.5ml agave syrup.
2
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Doug James’ Avatar Doug James
11th June at 02:02
Great suggestion. I added 1/4 oz agave on the second round and it was an even better cocktail! As you stated the Rothman & Winter must be a bit more dry than the Luxardo Apricot brandy called for in the orignal recipe. Thanks for the tip!
2
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1 reply
Adam G. Manning’s Avatar Adam G. Manning
10th February 2025 at 18:44
Is this a rocks drink or an up drink? It sounds great, however.
1
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Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
11th February 2025 at 07:23
Hi Adam. I designed it to be served over ice as per photo. I've corrected the offending sentence in How to.
1
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1 reply
Simon Sedgley’s Avatar Simon Sedgley
8th February 2025 at 05:28
Lovely...we think that a few drops of Margarita bitters don't go astray here. And rather than simply serving in a chilled glass (as per the specs here) we throw in a block of ice.
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