Toreador

Whatever you think about bull fighting or dessert drinks (and I tend to dislike both of them) you have to credit this recipe as being impressively crowd-pleasing. Just as the toreador must be showy and skillful, this drink presentation if fabulous and smooth.

I also appreciate how well tequila works in dessert drinks--in ways you'd never consider given its herbal flavor. Whipped cream and dark creme de cacao make it decadent and sweeten the liquor significantly. The recipe calls for cocoa powder, so rather than grating bittersweet chocolate, I used Hershey's dark powder, which is so fine that there's no noticeable solids to dissolve in your mouth, just chocolate flavor in the whipped cream. Do this drink to impress.

• 2 oz. silver tequila (Sauza blanco used)
• 1 oz. dark creme de cacao
• 1 oz. half-and-half
• whipped cream
• Cocoa powder (Hershey's dark used)

Combine tequila, creme de cacao and half-and-half in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled wine glass. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cocoa powder.