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Gran Malo Tamarind Liqueur
About Gran Malo Tamarind Liqueur
Gran Malo Tamarind Liqueur is produced at Envasadora De Productos Lideres, a distillery based in Jesus Maria, Jalisco. It was launched as a collaboration between parent company Casa Lumbre and influencer Luisito Comunica back in 2021. In 2025, they expanded distribution to several states in the U.S.
Gran Malo Tamarindo is made with a base of blanco tequila and sugarcane spirit, which is infused with tamarind and Mexican chilis.
Bottle Specs
❖ ABV: 30%
❖ Distillery: Envasadora De Productos Lideres, S.A. De C.V.
❖ Aging: N/A
❖ Price Point: lower moderate
My Tasting notes
I took a whiff of this liqueur, and it was immediately harsh, with the familiar scent of low quality ethanol. Unfortunately, other nose notes did not really come out against the alcohol scent.
I took a sip, and the first words I wrote in my notes were “yuck”. The harshness was not pleasant to sip, and halfway through, it began to remind me of cough medicine.
To be fair, the brand does recommend that this liqueur be consumed chilled, which I did not do here. For the sake of comparison, I find this to be a crutch, which is why I like to make sure a spirit can hold its own at room temperature as well. Unfortunately, I did not really get any flavor notes here besides cough medicine.
Cocktail
For my cocktail, I wanted to create a fun riff on the Matador cocktail, which normally has a tequila base.
TORITO DIABLO
❖ 2oz tamarind liqueur
❖ 3oz pineapple juice
❖ 1/2oz lime juice
- Add the ingredients to a shaker with ice, and shake until chilled.
- Strain the mixture into a martini glass.
Inside of a cocktail, this tamarind liqueur was smooth enough, but a little unremarkable. It didn’t really offer the fresh tamarind flavor that I was hoping for before my tasting. Rather than enhancing the flavors of the mixers, it felt like the liqueur just muddied them up, and made everything fall flat.
Bottom Line
RATING: 1/5
At the end of the day, I was thoroughly disappointed with this bottle of Gran Malo Tamarind Liqueur. I found it to be harsh, and could not really pick out the tamarind and chili notes against the prominent cough medicine flavor. Instead of blending in inside a sweet cocktail, this liqueur brought the flavor of the whole cocktail down with it. For the quality, I think this bottle is overpriced. Although I may experiment a little more with using this spirit in different cocktails, I cannot recommend it, and will not be purchasing another bottle.
I will say, there are some internet rumblings that the U.S. version of this spirit looks and tastes different than the version available in Mexico. I wasn’t able to confirm the difference in production process from any official sources, but that’s something to keep in mind if you go ahead and try this for yourself. It’s possible that us here in the U.S. are just getting an inferior product, which is very disappointing. I had high hopes for this liqueur after hearing how much folks love it in Mexico.
As always, drink responsibly.
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