Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: Tangible Gains

Hello and welcome to Friday! This week’s drink features the most traditional of all Christmas liquors: tequila!

I know, I know, but for real, tequila in my bar is criminally underused, outside of the standard margarita and I do want to start changing that. So, being the change I want to see in this world, I reached back into my list of bookmarked drinks and made the Tangible Triumph.

2 oz. tequila blanco
.5 oz. triple sec
1 oz. dry vermouth
.75 oz. sweet vermouth
2 dashes of orange bitters

Pour all liquid ingredients into a mixing glass with ice.
Stir languidly for 25 to 30 seconds.
Strain into a cleanish cup over ice and celebrate that you made it out of bed today. You are crushing it right now.

As a point of order, I’m just getting over a head cold so the descriptions of the smells here may not be completely accurate. Knowing that, I get a slight tequila nose up front, with hints of citrus from the Triple Sec and the bitters quickly coming in after. Overall, it has a very bright aroma. I like it.

Also, before proceeding. Clean-ish cup? Not quite sure what that means but, make sure your glasses are clean before drinking for fucks sake.

Anyway, the initial sip is….interesting. No single flavor really comes out to much initially. The mixture of the ingredient tends to lean a little on the sweeter side, with a little bit of dry vermouth detectable underneath. Eventually the tequila flavor comes through and makes its presence known. The closer the sip is to the end the more pronounced the tequila flavor is. With the aforementioned sweetness, the base spirit flavor is a most welcome addition at that point. That said, the flavor that does come through isn’t strong alcohol wise. The finish carries that subtle tequila flavor all the way through, and even after the sip. There is a 10-15 second aftertaste that lingers post sip.

Overall, this is an simple, no frills tequila drink. Usually there is beauty in simplicity, but for some reason, this one isn’t doing it for me. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a BAD cocktail. It is cold, smooth and very drinkable, but…I can’t put my finger on why it isn’t doing much for me. The fact I’m struggling to hit the word count on this one should tell you everything. In this drink’s defense, I don’t think this cocktail is beyond redemption. If I didn’t finish my tequila, I would re-make and adjust the sweet vermouth down a little more to adjust the sweet flavor and see if that picks it up for me. I’ll back burner this one and try it again, but I’m not sure when that will be.

(Banner image found here)