the king's mistress

1 1/4 oz Tequila (Espolón Blanco)
1 1/4 oz Pineau des Charentes (Chateau de Beaulon)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Saturdays ago, I was inspired by my work-bar getting in both Pineau des Charentes and Floc de Gascogne which are unfermented grape must fortified with Cognac and Armagnac, respectively. The sweet grape juice and the spirit's ABV puts both of these contenders in the same ABV as other Lillet Blanc (16-22%) but somewhere between Lillet and triple sec in sweetness. One of the first Pineau des Charentes cocktails that I made at home was the Pompadour from Frank Meier's 1934 The Artistry Of Mixing Drinks which pairs the Pineau with rhum agricole and balances its sweetness with lemon juice. The Pompadour in question was an old brand of Pineau des Charentes called for in the classic recipe. As a starting point for a riff, I decided to switch the rhum to tequila since I have not tinkered much with it since I crafted the Chutes & Ladders. While the Pineau des Charentes did a great job bridging the gap between rhum agricole and lemon juice, I figured that I could relieve it of some of its chores by switching to a more complementary lime juice here. And the whole mix seemed like a good candidate for some orange bitters as well.
For a name, I honed in on the Pompadour. While I could not make a great drink name connection to the hairstyle itself or the defunct liquor brand, there was a famous Madame de Pompadour who was a member of the French court. She was trained from childhood to be a mistress and later rose to being the official chief mistress of Louis XV. Therefore, the King's Mistress seemed like a good homage to all her hard work advising the king, organizing his schedules, and making nice with the queen! Once mixed, the cocktail offered tequila and floral notes. Next, white grape and lime on the sip gave way to tequila with a clean, mineral grape finish.