The Brave Recipe
Mezcal and tequila with amaro and curaçao, served at room temperature with no ice and no dilution — smoky, bitter, orange-scented and unapologetically strong.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Wine glass
- ABV: 35%
- Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
- Mezcal30 ml (1 oz)
- Blanco tequila30 ml (1 oz)
- Amaro15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Orange curaçao7.5 ml (0.3 oz)
How to Make It
- Pour the mezcal, tequila, amaro and curaçao into a wine glass at room temperature — no ice.
- Swirl the glass to combine.
- Mist a little Angostura bitters over the surface.
- Flame an orange peel over the glass and discard or drop it in.
Garnish
Angostura bitters misted over the top and a flamed orange peel
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone, smoke dominates the nose, the spirit is right out front, it hits hard and it is layered, giving you something different each sip.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A stemmed wine glass. The big bowl leaves room for ice and fruit, and gives the aroma somewhere to gather.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Mezcal
- The Mexican spirit whose smoke comes from roasting the agave in a stone pit. It can stand in for tequila, but the smoke walks over everything else; starting half and half is the balanced move.
- Blanco tequila
- Unaged tequila — the rawest form of agave flavour. If the label does not say "100% de agave", it contains cane spirit as well, and the drink will not taste the way it should.
- Amaro
- The umbrella name for Italian bitter liqueurs, and no two are alike. Averna is sweet and caramelly, Fernet sharp and minty, Montenegro floral — which is why a recipe naming a brand means it.
- Orange curaçao
- A liqueur made from the bitter orange of Curaçao; usually brandy-based, which makes it darker and rounder than Cointreau.
The Story
The signature drink of Bobby Heugel's Anvil Bar & Refuge in Houston, famous for being built straight in a wine glass and never touching ice.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a The Brave mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a wine glass.
- How strong is a The Brave?
- Roughly 35% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a The Brave 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 The Brave hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.