1.5 oz bourbon
0.75 oz reposado tequila
0.75 oz cherry Heering
2 dashes orange bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters
The nose is dominated by the cherry Heering, with flashes of agave. After the drink warms up, corn notes from the bourbon start to emerge. It begins sweetly, but that is quickly tamed by a combination of the bitters and tannins from the bourbon, with the tequila weaving through it. The finish is bittersweet chocolate.
This is a somewhat peculiar cocktail. The combination of bourbon and tequila is rather unique. I feel like the results are going to be dependent on which spirits you pick. The Elijah Craig 12 I used is a dominant force in the drink, pushing the tequila into the background. It doesn't help that higher proof tequilas are pretty thin on the ground, so all of the ones I own feel a bit outmatched in this situation.
Most of all, while I liked the drink, I don't think it's something I'd serve to anyone other than a booze nerd. It's not quite harmonious enough, at least with the ingredients I picked, to sit well with most people. Maybe with a wheated bourbon and a lighter tequila, it'd all fit together better. And either way, I'm not sure that there's anything particularly festive about it. Still, it piques my interest in seeing how well tequila works with other spirits, so at least it will make me investigate further.
I do an Old Fashioned-style drink that's an ounce each of añejo tequila and rye (Redemption, usually) sweetened with piloncillo (an unprocessed Mexican loaf sugar). It works surprisingly well; the añejo brings the caramel and wood of an aged spirit with fairly restrained vegetal notes that complement the grain, dill, and mint of the rye. A dash of green Chartreuse helps marry them further. There's also a few drinks that call for tequila and rum that could be interesting.
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