Rancho Clara Cocktail

There was a time in the distant past when liquor store shelves weren’t crowded with $50 bottles of the latest celebrity- endorsed Blanco tequilas. Heck, during that time there weren’t any celebrity endorsed spirits at all. If a celebrity liked a particular brand, they bought it and enjoyed it, just like the rest of us mere mortals. John Wayne, the most iconic celebrity of all time, was well known for his capacity to imbibe.

It’s a given considering his cowboy image that he enjoyed whiskey, but the Duke’s drink of choice was tequila. His favorite tequila, the tequila he once gifted a couple of cases to Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, can still be found today…usually on the bottom shelf below a certain former Batman’s agave juice and for far cheaper.

That tequila is Sauza Conmemorativo. It’s an Anejo usually priced under $20 that punches above its cost class.  Bourbon drinkers will be familiar with the notes of vanilla, caramel, and brown sugar offered by the Conmemorativo, along with subtle hints of pepper and tropical fruit.

The Rancho Clara combines Sauza Conmemorativo, Topo Chico mineral water, and muddled blackberries to form a refreshing riff on the Ranch Water cocktail that is popular in South Texas – a place with a rich heritage of sprawling ranches and oversized cowboy personas. A place where John Wayne would’ve felt right at home.

Ingredients

• Handful fresh blackberries
• 2.5 oz. Sauza Conmemorativo Anejo Tequila
• 4-6 oz. Topo Chico Mineral Water
• Lime garnish

Directions

1. Put blackberries into Collins Glass and muddle very well.
2. Add ice to fill the glass.
3. Slowly pour tequila over ice.
4. Fill to top with Topo Chico and add lime garnish.

Enjoy!