Tayēr Bergamot Margarita

Tayēr + Elementary sits on Old Street and has been a fixture of the World's 50 Best Bars list for years. It is run by Monica Berg and Alex Kratena, the pair behind the Muyu liqueurs, and the approach has always been the same: take a drink everyone thinks they know and change one thing properly.

Here the change is bergamot. Not orange, not lemon — the knobbly Calabrian citrus that gives Earl Grey its perfume, sitting somewhere between floral and bitter, doing something to a Margarita that lime on its own cannot. Agave underneath, lime for the acid, bergamot lifting the lot into aromatic territory.

It pours pale gold. The nose is bergamot first, then the warm pepper of tequila behind it. On the palate it is sharp and clean, citrus doing most of the talking, the agave arriving late and warm. That bergamot perfume holds long after the drink has gone.

At £40 the bottle pours several proper drinks, which stacks up well against two rounds anywhere central — and considerably better than most Margaritas you will be handed at either.

How to Serve

Chill the bottle thoroughly. Pour over fresh ice in a rocks glass, or serve it up in a chilled coupe with a salt rim if you want the full performance. Twist of lemon peel over the top.

Where to Drink It

Tayēr + Elementary itself, if you want to see it made. Otherwise Artesian at The Langham, where the agave list is taken seriously.

Food Pairings

Ceviche, or anything off a grill with lime and chilli near it. Salted almonds do the job if you are drinking it standing up.