Ancho Reyes substitute

Best substitute

Mezcal or tequila plus ancho chile powder and syrup

Per ½ oz Ancho Reyes: ½ oz mezcal or tequila, a scant ⅛ tsp pure ancho chile powder, ¼ tsp agave or simple syrup

Best for spicy margarita

Different texture

The closest thing you can assemble in five minutes. Mezcal supplies the smoke that dried ancho contributes, the powder supplies the chile flavour and gentle heat, and the syrup supplies the liqueur's sweetness. Shake hard and strain through a fine sieve.

Other ancho reyes substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Homemade ancho-infused tequila or vodka
Close match
1 dried ancho chile, torn open and seeded, per 1 cup of spirit, infused 2 to 4 hours, then sweetened with 1 tbsp sugar per cup, used 1:1
If you can find a single dried chile, this is much closer than any powder route and it comes out clear rather than sediment-y.
What changes
You get the raisiny, faintly smoky, tobacco-like depth that is the whole character of ancho and that nothing else in a kitchen has.
Best for
spicy margarita, any recipe naming Ancho Reyes, stirred agave drinks, batching for a party
Taste every hour and pull the chile as soon as it is where you want it. Left overnight it goes bitter and takes on a stewed, vegetal edge. Remove the seeds and the white pith first, since that is where most of the harshness lives.
3Mezcal on its own
Different taste
Use the same amount plus ¼ tsp syrup and a small pinch of chipotle powder or 2 dashes of hot sauce
Mezcal covers two of the four jobs outright: the smoke and the full spirit strength.
What changes
What it does not bring is heat or sugar, so a spicy margarita made with mezcal alone is a smoky margarita, which is a good drink but not a spicy one.
Best for
margaritas, Palomas, smoky stirred drinks
The syrup matters as much as the heat here. Ancho Reyes is a sweetened liqueur, so replacing it with a dry spirit measure for measure quietly removes sugar from the recipe and the drink comes out sharper than intended.
4Chile-infused tequila, or a bottled spicy tequila
Different taste
Use the same amount plus ¼ tsp syrup per half ounce
Several producers sell jalapeno- or chipotle-infused tequila, and they slot straight in.
What changes
Chipotle versions are smokier and considerably hotter than ancho, jalapeno versions are brighter and greener, and neither has ancho's dried-fruit sweetness.
Best for
spicy margarita, Palomas, spicy highballs
Because these are usually hotter than Ancho Reyes, start with three quarters of the called-for amount and add more. Ancho is a mild chile, roughly 1,000 to 2,000 on the Scoville scale, so overshooting the heat is the most common error people make substituting for it.
5Cointreau or triple sec plus hot sauce
Different taste
Use the same amount plus 2 to 3 dashes of a clean, vinegar-based hot sauce
This keeps the sweet-liqueur structure of a margarita intact and bolts heat on top.
What changes
It tastes of orange and chilli rather than of ancho, so the drink is recognisably a spicy margarita and not remotely a smoky one.
Best for
spicy margaritas, when the cupboard is limited
Use a simple hot sauce rather than a heavily seasoned one, since garlic and onion notes read strangely in a cocktail. Bear in mind triple sec is around 20 to 40 percent alcohol against Ancho Reyes at 40, so the drink may be slightly weaker.
6Muddled fresh jalapeno or serrano plus syrup
Different taste
2 or 3 thin slices muddled in the shaker, plus ¼ tsp syrup, in place of ½ oz liqueur, with the base tequila increased by ½ oz
A different but perfectly good spicy margarita.
What changes
Fresh chile gives bright, green, grassy heat rather than the dark smoky heat of dried ancho, and it hits the front of the palate rather than the back.
Best for
spicy margarita, Palomas, fresh, citrus-forward drinks
Muddling fresh chile is unpredictable, since two peppers off the same plant can differ hugely in heat. Taste the drink before you strain it. This is also the closest route to Ancho Reyes Verde, which is made from fresh poblanos and tastes green and vegetal rather than smoky.

What is Ancho Reyes?

Ancho Reyes is a Mexican chile liqueur from Puebla, around 40 percent alcohol, made by macerating dried ancho chiles in cane spirit with sugar and spice, with a green Verde bottle made from fresh poblanos instead.

Cooking tips

Build heat into a syrup rather than the shaker if you want repeatable results. Steep half a teaspoon of ancho powder or a torn dried chile in half a cup of warm simple syrup for twenty minutes, strain through a coffee filter, and you have a chile syrup that measures the same every time. Muddled fresh peppers never do.
American chili powder is a seasoning blend, typically ground chile plus cumin, oregano, garlic and salt. Pure ancho powder, labelled chile ancho or ancho molido, is nothing but ground dried chile. Using the blend by mistake is the single most common way a homemade version of this drink goes wrong, because cumin in a margarita is unmistakable and unpleasant.
Anchos are dried poblanos, which is why Ancho Reyes and Ancho Reyes Verde are two versions of the same pepper at different stages. If a recipe calls for the Verde bottle, the fresh-poblano or fresh-jalapeno route is closer than anything involving dried chile.
Deseed and depith any dried chile before infusing. The seeds and the white membrane carry bitterness rather than useful flavour, and they are also where a lot of the dusty, papery taste comes from.
Salt and lime both make chile heat read cleaner and less harsh, which is why a salted rim genuinely improves a spicy margarita rather than just decorating it. If your substitution tastes rough, add salt and acid before you add more sugar.
If you overshoot the heat, add a quarter ounce more syrup or a splash of orange liqueur rather than more water. Sugar and fat both blunt capsaicin, whereas water simply makes a weak, still-spicy drink.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use chili powder instead of Ancho Reyes?

Only if it is pure ground ancho chile. Anything sold in the United States simply as chili powder is a blend that includes cumin, oregano and often garlic and salt, and those flavours are extremely obvious in a cocktail. Look for chile ancho molido, ancho powder, or use a whole dried ancho and infuse it into tequila.

How hot is Ancho Reyes?

Mild. Ancho chiles sit around 1,000 to 2,000 Scoville units, roughly a tenth of a jalapeno, so the liqueur reads as warm and lingering rather than fiery. This matters when substituting, because people commonly reach for cayenne or chipotle and end up with a drink far hotter than the original.

Can I leave it out of a spicy margarita?

You will be left with a plain margarita, which is a fine drink but not the one you were making, and you will also have removed some sugar and about half an ounce of alcohol. If you want to keep the drink balanced without the heat, replace the Ancho Reyes with an equal amount of tequila plus a quarter teaspoon of agave syrup.

What is the difference between Ancho Reyes and Ancho Reyes Verde?

The original is made from dried ancho chiles, so it tastes smoky, raisiny and dark. Verde is made from fresh green poblanos and tastes bright, grassy and vegetal, closer to a green chile than a dried one. They are not interchangeable, and if a recipe wants Verde, muddled fresh poblano or jalapeno is a far better substitute than anything made with dried chile.

Is Ancho Reyes the only chile liqueur?

No, it is just the best known. Several producers make chile, jalapeno or habanero liqueurs, and any of them can stand in with an adjustment for heat and sweetness. Check the strength on the label, since Ancho Reyes is unusually strong for a liqueur at about 40 percent, and a weaker bottle will leave your drink lighter than intended.

Related substitutes

More liquor substitutes

Ancho Reyes substitute

Other ancho reyes substitutes

2Homemade ancho-infused tequila or vodka

3Mezcal on its own

4Chile-infused tequila, or a bottled spicy tequila

5Cointreau or triple sec plus hot sauce

6Muddled fresh jalapeno or serrano plus syrup