Photo

Tequila is growing up and expanding its boundaries — no longer a mere cheap foundation for obliterating, sugary-sweet cocktails. Darker, premium golden-amber-hued añejos, hailing from the rainy highlands and arid valleys outside of Guadalajara, Mexico and aged in wooden barrels for at least 12 months, garner attention all on their own for their sophisticated flavor. This spring gives rise to a new wave of pricier, ultra-aged extra añejos (casked in wood from three to seven years), like Patrón’s rare and limited Extra Añejo 7 Años, which are best enjoyed sipped (pass on the snifter and opt for Riedel’s Vinum Tequila glass — a Champagne-style flute), not mixed into a margarita.

But this season, añejo offerings from smaller-batch, indie labels like Suerte Tequila, Partida and Tequila Tapatio — in addition to the larger labels like Patrón, Don Julio, Chinaco and Espolòn — are both high-quality and reasonably priced, with a smart, accessible balance of agave expression and wood. The aging process endows añejo tequila with smoky, peppery notes much like those of whiskey or scotch — and attendant aromas of sweet vanilla, caramel and intense wood, plus that refreshing flash of citrus. They make for a fresh, logical ingredient in classic cocktails like old-fashioneds and manhattans. Below, a trio of handcrafted añejo cocktail recipes from bartenders practicing their craft in a variety of locations, from New York City’s mod, well-received Mexican restaurant Cosme (in Chelsea) to the handsome, dimly-lit subterranean West Village spot the Up & Up to the hip-casual Brooklyn mainstay Extra Fancy, across the Williamsburg Bridge. “Añejo tequilas bridge the gap between the purity and liveliness of a blanco tequila and the round and sophisticated character of oak-aged spirits such as cognac, bourbon or aged rum,” Extra Fancy’s Rob Krueger explains. Añejo-based variations on the Blood and Sand, the Negroni and the Rob Roy follow here.

Gallardo

Created by Rob Krueger for Extra Fancy in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“This drink is a variation of the Scotch cocktail Blood and Sand, which was named for the 1922 Rudolph Valentino film about a bullfighter,” Krueger says. “This version takes its name from the main character’s surname, which means ‘gallant.'”

¾ ounce Roca Patrón Añejo

¾ ounce Carpano Bianco vermouth

¾ ounce Cherry Heering

¾ ounce white grapefruit juice

1. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well.

2. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Amargo Placer

Created by Yana Volfson of Cosme in New York City

“The canela and peppery notes of Tapatio Añejo stand up to the bitterizing and spice-driven notes of these fortified wines,” Volfson says, “creating layers of forthcoming flavor.”

1 ½ ounces Tapatio Añejo

½ ounce Cappelletti

½ ounce Carpano Antica Formula vermouth

½ ounce Cocchi Americano

½ ounce Dolin dry vermouth

Fresh Kold-Draft ice

Grapefruit twist, to garnish

1. Combine all ingredients in a chilled glass container and still to temperature.

2. Strain over the ice and garnish with the grapefruit twist.

La Avenida Foster

Created by Matt Piacentini, owner and bartender at the Up & Up in New York City

“The oak in the tequila interacts with the vermouth a lot like the scotch, and adds quite a bit of floral qualities to the drink,” Piacentini says, “which fill in where the honeydew would have been in the original drink.”

2 ounces Partida Añejo

1 ounce Perucchi vermouth

2 dashes orange bitters

Pear eau de vie, to rinse

1. Stir the tequila, vermouth and bitters with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass that’s been rinsed with the pear eau de vie.

2. Express and discard an orange peel and garnish with a lemon peel.