Mexican Firing Squad
A Mexican Firing Squad is 50ml of blanco tequila, 25ml of fresh lime juice, 15ml of pomegranate grenadine and two dashes of Angostura bitters, shaken hard for 10 to 12 seconds and strained over fresh ice in a rocks glass, with a lime wheel. About 2.1 UK units. Charles H. Baker printed it in The Gentleman’s Companion in 1939, as a drink he met at La Cucaracha Bar in Mexico City in 1937. His version was longer, in a tall collins glass with a fruit garnish, and lighter on grenadine. It is a tequila sour in which pomegranate does the sweetening and Angostura does the seasoning. Pick a pomegranate grenadine. It is the only sweetener in the glass, and a red sugar syrup leaves the drink sweet with nothing to meet the lime.
Glassware: Rocks Glass
Garnish: Lime wheel
Ingredients
50ml
100% agave blanco at 40% ABV. Its pepper is what the bitters pick up; a reposado rounds it off.
15ml
Made from pomegranate. It is the only sweetener, so a plain red sugar syrup leaves the drink with no fruit.
2 dashes
Two dashes, at 44.7% ABV. Clove and cinnamon against the agave, joined by the pomegranate.
Instructions
Squeeze the lime juice the same day.
Add the tequila, lime juice, grenadine and Angostura to a shaker.
Fill with cubed ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.
Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass.
Garnish with a lime wheel.
Our version
Baker’s 1939 Mexican Firing Squad Special made short: 50ml of tequila, 25ml of lime and 15ml of pomegranate grenadine with his two dashes of Angostura, on the rocks, where Baker used one and a half to two teaspoons of grenadine in a tall collins glass.
Source: our own specification. Last checked 10 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Make the grenadine, or buy one that lists pomegranate first. Equal weights of pomegranate juice and sugar, stirred over a low heat until the sugar dissolves, lasts a fortnight chilled. Count the Angostura: two dashes. Blanco tequila is peppery already, and a heavy hand piles clove on pepper. Juice the lime on the day. At 25ml it is a full sour measure, and the grenadine is tart enough that stale juice tips the drink flat rather than sweet.
Behind the Mexican Firing Squad
Flavour Profile
Baker in Mexico City
Charles H. Baker Jr was an American travel writer whose two-volume The Gentleman’s Companion, published in 1939, collected food and drink from his journeys. He records the Mexican Firing Squad Special as a drink he met at La Cucaracha Bar in Mexico City in 1937.
His recipe is two jiggers of tequila, the juice of two small limes, one and a half to two teaspoons of grenadine or plain gomme syrup, and two dashes of Angostura, in a tall collins glass with cracked ice and a garnish of orange, pineapple and a red cherry. Who first made it at the bar is not recorded.
Pomegranate Instead of Orange
Most tequila sours sweeten with orange liqueur or agave syrup. This one uses grenadine, which was once always pomegranate syrup. Pomegranate is tart and a little tannic, so it adds fruit and grip as well as sugar, and the drink comes out darker and drier than a Margarita.
Our 15ml is more than Baker’s teaspoons, because our version is short and on the rocks rather than long. In a smaller glass the lime needs more to balance it.
Angostura on Agave
Blanco tequila is peppery and vegetal. Angostura is clove, cinnamon and gentian. On their own they do not obviously agree. The pomegranate sits between them: its dark fruit connects the spice to the agave, so the bitters read as part of the fruit rather than as a separate seasoning.
Baker’s Recipe and Ours
The Mexican Firing Squad in The Gentleman’s Companion (1939) and ours
Tequila
- Baker, 1939
- Two jiggers
- Ours
- 50ml blanco
Lime
- Baker, 1939
- Juice of two small limes
- Ours
- 25ml, squeezed the same day
Sweetener
- Baker, 1939
- 1.5 to 2 teaspoons grenadine or gomme
- Ours
- 15ml pomegranate grenadine
Bitters
- Baker, 1939
- Two dashes Angostura
- Ours
- Two dashes Angostura
Glass
- Baker, 1939
- Tall collins glass, cracked ice
- Ours
- Rocks glass, fresh ice
Garnish
- Baker, 1939
- Orange, pineapple and a red cherry
- Ours
- Lime wheel
UK units
- Baker, 1939
- Not stated
- Ours
- About 2.1
| Element | Baker, 1939 | Ours |
|---|---|---|
| Tequila | Two jiggers | 50ml blanco |
| Lime | Juice of two small limes | 25ml, squeezed the same day |
| Sweetener | 1.5 to 2 teaspoons grenadine or gomme | 15ml pomegranate grenadine |
| Bitters | Two dashes Angostura | Two dashes Angostura |
| Glass | Tall collins glass, cracked ice | Rocks glass, fresh ice |
| Garnish | Orange, pineapple and a red cherry | Lime wheel |
| UK units | Not stated | About 2.1 |
How to Serve It
Over fresh ice, early in the evening, with a lime wheel. For Baker’s longer drink, use his teaspoons of grenadine in a tall glass of cracked ice and add his fruit.
For orange liqueur and a salt rim, make a Margarita; for agave syrup, a Tommy’s Margarita.
Make it at home
The Spirit
TequilaTequila is a Mexican spirit distilled from the blue agave plant, made only in Jalisco and parts of four other states, and most bottles are 38 to 40% ABV; our recipes use 40%. A label reading 100% agave means every sugar came from the plant, where plain tequila needs only 51%. Most of our 26 tequila recipes ask for 100% agave blanco.
Master the Techniques
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What is in a Mexican Firing Squad?
Where does the Mexican Firing Squad come from?
How does Baker’s version differ from ours?
How is it different from a Margarita?
Does the grenadine matter?
Blanco or reposado tequila?
How strong is a Mexican Firing Squad?
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Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 12 October 2026