La Rosita Recipe
A tequila Negroni that splits the vermouth between sweet and dry: earthy reposado, Campari bitterness and a drier, lighter finish than the gin original.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 25%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Reposado tequila45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Sweet red vermouth15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Dry vermouth15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Campari15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Angostura bitters1 dash
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled and diluted.
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Express a lemon twist over the drink and drop it in.
Garnish
Lemon twist
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone and the spirit is right out front.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Reposado tequila
- Tequila rested in barrel for two months to a year. The agave edge has softened into vanilla and cinnamon; you can swap in blanco, but the drink comes out sharper.
- Sweet red vermouth
- Once opened it lives IN THE FRIDGE and should be finished within a month; a bottle left at room temperature oxidises in a few weeks and sours the drink.
- Dry vermouth
- Dry white vermouth. Same rule as the sweet one: fridge, one month. When someone asks how dry a martini should be, this is the ingredient they are talking about.
- Campari
- The red Italian bitter, with a bitterness that is unmistakable. Aperol can replace it, but Aperol is half the strength and clearly sweeter, so the drink comes out softer.
- Angostura bitters
- The salt of the cocktail world. Measured in dashes, not millilitres: a few of them cut the sweetness and add spice. One bottle lasts years.
The Story
The Rosita turned up in American bartending guides in the later 20th century and was brought back into circulation by cocktail writer Gary Regan in the 2000s.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a La Rosita mixed?
- It is stirred and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a La Rosita?
- Roughly 25% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a La Rosita be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a La Rosita hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.