Happy Hour: Tacos and Tequila

by Diana Vilibert

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, and you know what that means: the commemoration of the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican war.

Also, tequila! My first experience with tequila involved the prom, the Jersey Shore (the location; not the show), and drinking from the bottle. It was exactly as classy as you might imagine and it only took a few years to recover enough that waves of nostalgia-shame no longer wash over me when I’m in the same room as a bottle of tequila.

And good thing, because Espolón Tequila is celebrating Cinco de Mayo with a natural pairing: taco trucks and tequila. The late-night siren call of the taco truck is indeed hard to resist, but if you don’t have an extra few hours to stand in line tomorrow along with everyone else who had the same good idea, Espolón asked mixologist H. Joseph Ehrmann to create a drink inspired by San Francisco’s El Tonayense truck. And don’t think I’d leave you hanging — you’ll find the recipe for the El Tonayense’s Pollo Asado tacos below, too.

Sidra de la Mula (Apple Cider Mule)
Created by H. Joseph Ehrmann (Elixir, San Francisco)

1.5 oz. Espolón Tequila Blanco
12 oz. bottle of Sidral Mundet (a Mexican apple-flavored soda)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 squeeze of a lemon slice

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a 16 oz. cup of ice and stir. (Note: Ehrmann substituted Sidral Mundet for traditional ginger beer in this recipe, but if you can’t find it at your grocery store, I found that a hard apple cider like Doc’s Draft makes for a perfect alternative.)

Pollo Asado Tacos
El Tonayense Taco Truck (San Francisco, CA)

2 lbs. boneless chicken breast, cut into cubes
½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tbs. black pepper
2 tbs. garlic salt
Salt to taste
Hard taco shells
Toppings to taste

Directions: Combine chicken, orange juice, pepper, garlic salt, and salt in a bowl. Refrigerate and let marinate overnight. Sauté chicken in a hot pan until cooked through. Dish into taco shells and garnish with your favorite toppings.

Previously: The Good Kind of Tea Party.

Diana Vilibert is a freelance drinker and writer living in Brooklyn.

Photo courtesy Espolón