Ancho Reyes Chile Verde Poblano Liqueur 750ml

Ancho Reyes Verde comes from the same Puebla based house behind the original Ancho Reyes, founded by Moisés Guindi, Iván Saldaña, and Daniel Schneeweiss under Casa Lumbre Spirits and later acquired by Campari Group in 2019. Where the flagship liqueur draws on a 1927 recipe built around sun-dried red chiles, Verde was developed to capture a different strand of Pueblan tradition, inspired by a 1920s cantina drink called menjurje, a homemade green chile concoction favored by local artists and intellectuals of the era. It was introduced as a companion to the original a few years after that liqueur's 2013 relaunch, aimed at showcasing the fresher, more vegetal side of the poblano pepper.

Rather than using ripened, dried chiles, Verde is made from poblanos picked early while still green, at the point just before they would begin to redden and mature. Grown in the same volcanic soil around Puebla, the peppers are fire-roasted and mashed, then macerated in a neutral sugar cane spirit for six months. This shorter path from field to bottle preserves the herbaceous, slightly grassy quality of unripe poblanos rather than the smokier, deeper character that develops through drying, and the finished liqueur carries a comparatively mild heat, well below that of a jalapeño.

The liqueur has a vivid green color and an aroma of roasted pepper and fresh herbs. On the palate, vegetal poblano flavor leads, followed by a light, building warmth rather than a sharp bite, with a clean, slightly grassy finish. It shines in cocktails built on gin, tequila, or vodka, adding a fresh, peppery lift, and pairs well with ceviche or a citrus-forward salad.