For Sunday, a cocktail of tepache with mezcal and tequila.
1 oz mezcal
1 oz tequila (reposada but any would work)
1 oz lime
4 oz tepache
2 dropperful fire tincture
No, it doesn’t fit in this glass !
Started this with 1 oz tequila 1 oz mezcal 2 oz tepache, because I’ve done that with tequila alone and it was nice. Way too boozy, mezcal too rough. Doubled the tepache, added the lime. Split it and threw half in the freezer for now. Would have been better with younger tepache (mine is a little dry) or some simple but I’m not that motivated today. It’s good, hard to go wrong with tepache because it’s delicious.
Do you make your own tepache? If yes, do you have a recipe you are willing to share? I love pineapple and tried to make some years ago but it went terribly.
Yes of course! You will need:
2 pineapples
6 of lemons, limes or a combination
4-5 cinnamon sticks
Black peppercorns
(Other spices if you want - nutmeg is good, cloves, dried Ancho peppers, vanilla once you make it you will have a better idea of what you might like)
1.5 cups sugar (any type but not artificial sweetener)
A gallon pitcher
Get 2 pineapples and peel them the way you always wanted to, generously. Core them. Cut the peel and core into pieces and put them in a gallon pitcher. Keep the pineapple to use as pineapple, or juice it (more on that later)
Zest the citrus and juice it, put the zest in a pot with cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, and anything else you want spice wise. Cover it with water and bring to a boil. Simmer lightly for at least 10 minutes or bring to a boil, turn off and steep (I’ve done this in the morning, gone to work and finished it at lunchtime) then put in the sugar while it’s warm and let it cool or cool with ice cubes. Once cool, add the lemon juice and strain all this into the pitcher with the pineapple peels.
Top off the pitcher with cool water if needed. Cover loosely with a towel or lid. Leave in a warmish (room temp) place and stir it daily until it’s fizzy-foamy. Here In FL that usually takes 2 days but in the winter can take 4-5 days. Once it’s fizzy, strain, bottle and refrigerate.
That’s tepache. Sometimes (this time) because there is so much displacement that the one gallon pitcher makes way less than a gallon of tepache, and that annoys me, I do a second fermentation by mixing the finished tepache with the pineapple juice and letting it sit out a day or two till fizzy. Then bottle and refrigerate.
The citrus makes a big difference. If you didn’t like your tepache try it with lemon or lime in the mix. Ask me anything about tepache, I make it a lot and love it. Also ginger beer.
I did a second round of cocktail and this one is so much better:
2oz bourbon
1oz Heirloom Pineapple Amaro
3 oz tepache
Previously, I used the whole pineapple, instead of just the core and peel. I also used piloncillo, which I think was part of my flavor issues. I may have also let it ferment for too long. I started making alcoholic Gingerbeer not long after the tepache attempt. Mayne it is time to take a crack at tepache again.
Thank you so much for this. I had never even heard of tepache before now but, thanks to you, I must know! Cheers
I don’t have the link handy but I watched Brad’s video on Bon Appetit years ago to get started with it and have been basing all mine from that one - never had any issues from it!