Beyond Margaritaville
True confession time: the margarita is one of my all-time favorite drinks. The herbal sweet-citrusy mix just works. Having friends over at home? Make a pitcher — everyone will like it. At a bar or restaurant where you don’t trust the drinks menu? Any bartender will know how to make it. At a place with a great tequila list? You know you’re in for one of the best versions of your life.
But Mexico’s cocktail repertoire extends well beyond the Margarita, and if you can convince yourself to move beyond the OG, you’ll find a world well worth exploring. It’s only getting better too, as bars like Tulum’s Arca and Zapote at the Rosewood Mayacobá are showcasing the wealth and diversity of Mexico’s spirits. If you’re familiar with Mezcal and Sotol, think Chacolo and Cascahuin.
Here in the Island, we have less access to that type of esoterica. Until you go bring bottles back in your suitcase, here are three easy types of Mexican-style cocktails to tide you over.
PALOMA
Serves 1
Once upon a time, the humble Paloma — a mix of grapefruit soda and tequila — stood in the shadows of the margarita. But no longer: The tart-sweet drink has come firmly into its own, with versions and tweaks abound. Purists will insist on Jarritos, but if you’re more on the DIY side, try mix your own version with simple syrup, fresh juice and soda water. You can make it with any type of tequila, but for a fun twist, this version goes half and half with mezcal. The smoky profile is a terrific foil for the grapefruit.
• 1 ounce tequila, blanco or reposado
• 1 ounce mezcal
• ½ ounce lime juice
• 1 teaspoon simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water)
• 2 ounces fresh grapefruit juice
• 2 ounces club soda
Garnish: Grapefruit wheel, thinly sliced
Drinkware: Highball
Combine spirits, lime juice, simple syrup and grapefruit juice in a mixing tin filled with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with the club soda and serve.
TEQUILA OLD FASHIONED
Serves 1
When it comes to making cocktails with tequila, the light fresh blanco style of the spirit gets the most attention — because it’s so easy and more affordable. But with so many quality bottles of barrel-aged tequila out on the market it would be a shame to ignore these styles too. And what could be a better showcase than the most classic of classic cocktails, the Old Fashioned. To sub in for whiskey, reposado, which will have been aged from two months to a year in oak casks will work, but for a more complex profile, choose añejo, aged from one to three years. The simple preparation will let the spirit shine. (If you want to stick with the Mexican theme, you can use agave nectar in place of the sugar.)
• 3 ounces añejo tequila
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
Garnish: Orange peel
Drinkware: Rocks glass
Add the sugar and dash of bitters to a rocks glass and muddle lightly. Add the tequila, ice (preferably a large cube), then express the oil from the orange peel into the glass and add the peel. Stir lightly and serve.
CHARRO NEGRO
Serves 1
Often associated with Mexico’s Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), this mix of Mexican cola, tequila and lemon juice is too fun to be ignored the rest of the year. Call it a tequila-fied twist on the Cuba Libre or Rum and Coke if you need to explain it quickly. But once you try it, you won’t think of it as anything else.
• 2 ounces tequila, preferably reposado
• ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
• 3 ounces Mexican Cola, or Coca-Cola
Garnish: Lime wheel
Glassware: Highball
Add all the ingredients to a highball glass filled with ice. Stir, garnish with the lime wheel and serve.