El Diablo is a tequila variation on a Rum Buck. In 1940 it first appeared in a drink book called The How and When as the “Diablo.” Seven years later, Trader Vic ran the recipe in his Bartender’s Guide, swapping 30 ml (1 oz) of tequila for the rum and calling it a “Mexican El Diablo,” which he shortened to “El Diablo” in his revised 1972 Guide. This incarnation has since become popular on cocktail menus as a tequila-based alternative to the ubiquitous Margarita.
Recipe: Mix 45 ml white rum and 15 ml each lime juice and crème de cassis with shaved ice in a tall glass and top with ginger ale.
See also Bergeron, Victor “Trader Vic”; Buck; crème de cassis; and Margarita.
Bergeron, Trader Vic. Bartender’s Guide. New York: Garden City, 1947.
Bergeron, Victor J. Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide, Revised. New York: Doubleday, 1972.
Gayle, Hyman, and Gerald F. Marco. The How and When. Chicago: Marco Importing, 1940.
By: Jeff Berry