procession

1 1/2 oz Espolón Tequila Blanco
3/4 oz White Crème de Cacao (Marie Brizard)
1/2 oz Ruby Port (Taylor Fladgate)
3/4 oz Chilled Hibiscus Tea (Wu Wei Tea)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Just like last year, the Espolón rep sent us a well curated set of Day of the Dead-themed cocktail recipes. I rather appreciate the time and effort the brand spends in gathering up unique and tasty recipes instead of sending out an un-inspired Margarita variation or other. From the previous batch, I made H. Joseph Ehrmann's Ashes to Ashes, Thomas Waugh's Fresa Catrina, and Christopher Bostick's Marigold Ofrenda. From this years collection, a recipe from Daniel Hyatt of San Francisco's Alembic caught my eye. His drink, the Procession, utilizes a brightly colored hibiscus tea which is frequently drank in Mexico as an iced beverage called Agua Fresca. Here, we substituted Wu Wei which contains hibiscus as well as other botanicals for we lacked pure hibiscus tea in the house.
The Procession began with an orange oil aroma that was joined by tequila and cacao notes; next, the red elements, the rich grape of the ruby port and the herbal notes from the tea, filled the sip. Finally, the swallow contained the tequila, chocolate, and orange flavors along with some additional spice from the tea. Overall, the Procession was smooth and surprisingly not overly sweet; perhaps the tequila and the tea's tannins helped to dry out the sugar content here.