2.98 oz mixed with ice, 0.83 oz of it pure alcohol
Melt
Shaken: +20 % of the pre-batch, +0.6 oz of water
Served
2.98 + 0.6 = 3.58 oz in the glass
Strength
0.83 ÷ 3.58 = 23.1 % ABV as served
Ethanol
0.83 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 19 g · about 135 kcal from the alcohol alone
IN THE GLASS
METHYL ANTHRANILATE
FROM TEQUILA AGAVE · the grape candy note
Formula
C₈H₉NO₂
Mass
151.16 g/mol
IUPAC
methyl 2-aminobenzoate
The grape-candy / Welch's-grape-juice aroma. Concord grapes carry it in concentrations no European wine grape (Vitis vinifera) approaches; American Vitis labrusca grapes, native to the northeastern US, hold methyl anthranilate as a signature. The "foxy" note in North American grape juice and artificial grape candy both come from the same molecule. Also used as the standard bird repellent on commercial fruit crops; birds find it intolerable.
Lemon's defining note: technically a mix of two geometric isomers (geranial and neral) that read as the same aroma to the nose. Lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and Indian chai all carry it. In cocktails it's what a lemon twist contributes that lemon juice can't: the volatile expressed from the oil glands, not the acid from the pulp.
The bitter from gentian root, used across Campari, Aperol, sweet vermouth, Angostura, and most amari. Bitter compounds activate TAS2R taste receptors that evolved to detect plant alkaloids. The same machinery that makes broccoli taste bad to children also makes a Negroni taste like an adult ordered it.
Tequila, lime, grenadine and Angostura. Pomegranate-derived grenadine is the star, and its tannins and ellagitannins anchor the tequila's ethyl esters. Angostura adds the bark and clove backbone.
PROVENANCE
Charles H. Baker collected the Mexican Firing Squad recipe in Mexico City in 1937 at La Cucaracha bar. Baker's 1939 Gentleman's Companion says he sought the bar out himself after being herded into dull tourist places. The name is usually read as a nod to the Revolution era's firing squads, the execution method used by both Revolutionary and Federal forces. Modern tequila bartenders treat it as a worthy historical pour worth restoring.
