History of the El Diablo Cocktail in Trader Vic's Books
June 27, 2009
I was trying to find the first reference to the El Diablo cocktail recently.
1/2 lime
1 ounce tequila
1/2 crème de cassis
Ginger Ale
Searching the web, the earliest reference I read to it was from Trader Vic's books of 1946 and 1947.
I asked tiki expert Martin Cate, who has these books, if he knew if the drink was a Trader Vic original. After his research it's still not entirely clear, but the research is interesting in itself.
Martin says:
Thanks Martin!
If anyone finds an earlier reference to the El Diablo or Mexican El Diablo, please let me know.
Camper,
I haven't found anything earlier, but I did come across the recipe in the 1986 edition of Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails. I'm assuming that Andrew MacElhone added it to the book.
El Diablo
In a tall tumbler:
2 oz tequila
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/2 oz creme de cassis
Fill up with ginger ale, stir, decorate with slice of lime.
Cheers!
Blair
Good Spirits News
Posted by: Blair Frodelius | June 28, 2009 at 06:53 AM
In the 1972 revised Trader Vic's the drink appears as "El Diablo" AND as "Mexican El Diablo." The ingredient list is identical, but the directions differ slightly (when the ice is added...and El Diablo is served with a straw). Neither is called out as an original Trader Vic's recipe.
Posted by: Ryan Kelley - Tequila Examiner | January 11, 2010 at 05:36 PM
It does not appear in the two mid-1960s Argentinian bar guides of which I have digital copies.
Searching Google Books with results from all languages I don't find anything for it (the Trader Vic books are 'no preview' of course) until a 1980 magazine for Mexican Americans.
(I have had some luck with tidbits from Mexican bar guides, e.g. ads for them, coming up in Google Books so I tend to interpret this non-result as slightly supportive of it being a U.S. drink, but would love to have our south of the border cocktail friends weigh in.)
Posted by: Dinah Sanders | June 18, 2016 at 01:10 PM
Thanks!
C
Posted by: Camper English | June 19, 2016 at 08:46 AM
Just heard about it in a 1935 movie, Girl Who Came Back. The guy called it Cafe Diab.
Posted by: Kelly | August 21, 2016 at 07:56 AM