The Chingon

Remember when I first started this blog and for a scant time held weekly “You Name It!” contests for as-yet-unchristened cocktails? Don’t worry, it’s okay that you don’t. The point is, naming cocktails is not my forte.

Given that, I should really do more due diligence researching the names other people have given their cocktail creations. Like if I’d bothered to Google “Bumboo,” yesterday’s drink, I’d have learned that a bumbo, aka bumboo, is actually a certain category of drink — albeit a pretty obscure one, as only one of my cocktail guidebooks mentions it — traditionally made with dark rum, grenadine and some sort of nutmeg or cinnamon spice. Knowing that about Bumboo’s etymology, for one thing, would have informed me as to why Death & Company probably chose to go with the Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters, noted on its manufacturer’s website as containing a cinnamon note.

So what’s a Chingon? It’s Mexican slang for badass. Things I think are badass about this drink: Its orangey-yowza color, for one. The way the citrus plays against the orgeat (hints of Mai Tai) and the B&B (although note that the original Death & Co. recipe calls for just Benedictine). Most badass of all: That it is a cocktail mere mortals can easily wrap their shakers around, as the most exotic ingredient is the orgeat syrup — which you should totally invest in anyway, because spring’s around the corner and oh yes we will be making Mai Tais.

The Chingon

(Adapted from Death & Company)

2 ounces Sauza Conmemorativo

1 1/4 ounces B&B

3/4 ounce lime juice

1/2 ounce orange juice

2 teaspoons Fee Brothers Orgeat Cordial Syrup

Orange peel, for garnish

Combine all liquid ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with orange twist.