Foodie Swellness: Cocktails for Cinco de Mayo

April 29, 2019

While Cinco de Mayo is meant to commemorate the Mexican Army’s victory over the French Empire, Google tells me it’s become more of a celebration in the U.S. than it is in Mexico, with a focus on Mexican-American culture. I have to admit: the only way I’ve celebrated it ever is here in Toronto and it has involved going out to enjoy Mexican cocktails and tacos.

And since I love any reason to celebrate those two things, and I’m betting a bunch of you do as well, I’m sharing a couple of the recipes I got to try recently at a dinner with Don Julio Tequila held at El Rey Mezcal Bar so that you can celebrate Cinco de Mayo this weekend in the best way. But you’ll be making these cocktails all season long. Trust.

The Don Julio Paloma is the cocktail we kicked off the evening with. Palomas are one of my go-to cocktail orders in the summer, and yet I’ve never made them at home. The last time I had one before this dinner at El Rey was when I was in Mexico City in December, so now I’ll always associate them with that incredible city, which I’m dying to get back to as I didn’t get to try nearly enough of the food or saw only a tiny fraction of the sights. Hope to get back there soon. In the meantime, I’ll drink this cocktail and reminisce about the amazing sights I did see (I wrote about it for VITA)!

DON JULIO PALOMA

Ingredients  

1 ½ oz. Don Julio Blanco

½ oz. Grapefruit Juice

 ½ oz. Grapefruit Sherbet

½ oz. Lime Juice

1 ½ oz. Soda

Pink peppercorn

Strawberry and chilli salt

Method

Combine all ingredients except for soda in a shaker tin, shake for 30 seconds and strain into a glass that’s been half-rimed with salt and filled with ice. Top with soda and a grapefruit half-moon.

Grapefruit Sherbet

• Zest of 1 grapefruit
• Juice of 1 grapefruit
• Equivalent amount of sugar to grapefruit juice by volume
• 10 pink peppercorns

Add all ingredient to a pot and heat until sugar dissolves.  Allow to cool complete, then fine strain and use.

The second cocktail we had as we enjoyed the starters was the Don Julio Jalisco Express. I love pineapple and enjoyed how bright and refreshing this cocktail is. I admit I can pretty much guarantee I am too lazy to make this cordial to enjoy this cocktail if I’m just at home myself, but I’d make it if I were hosting a summer BBQ.

DON JULIO JALISCO EXPRESS

Ingredients

1 ½ oz. Don Julio Blanco

½ oz. Trinidad Pepper

½ oz. Lime

½ oz. Black Pepper Cordial

½ oz. Fresh Cucumber Juice

½ oz. Fresh Lime

1 ½ oz. Soda

Mint

Method

Combine all ingredients except for soda in a shaker tin, shake for 30 seconds and strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with soda. Garnish with a straw, a cucumber ribbon and a fresh mint tip.

Trinidad Pepper, Lime and Black Pepper Cordial

• Zest of 3 limes
• Juice of 3 lime
• Equivalent amount of sugar to grapefruit juice by volume
• 5 Black peppercorns
• 2 Trinidad peppers

 Add all ingredient to a pot and heat until sugar dissolves.  Allow to cool complete, then fine strain and use.

Salud!

 

 

 

 

Filed under: Foodie Swellness

Tags: cocktails, Don julio, El Rey, Mexico, mexico city, recipe, tequila, tequila tasting