Seasonality is every bit as important in cocktails as it is in food and dining. Although the “slow movement” was originally pioneered by chefs who understood the importance of local, sustainable and organic produce, bartenders are increasingly showing culinary flair in innovative cocktails. The division between kitchen and bar has never been smaller. The world’s best chefs and bartenders alike find a way to tell a story of flavor through the respective approach to their different crafts. Whether you are focusing flavor profiles around a seasonal item that is tasting its absolute best, or simply referencing flavors that invoke nostalgia and warm memories, every great meal — and cocktail, for that matter — should be as memorable as they are delicious. Although nearly every base spirit can lend its flavor to the seasonality of warm summer days and cool summer nights, today’s recipes are all about the famed heritage spirit of the neighbors to our south: tequila. The three most-widely produced classifications of this amazing noble spirit are well suited for cocktails that encompass of the very nature of summertime. The following list of original recipes was compiled by The Blind Tiger Cocktail Co. Manzanita’s Revenge Ingredients: 2 oz blanco tequila 1/4 cup crisp green apple 2 slices of fresh jalapeno 1 oz fresh lime juice 3/4 oz agave nectar Preparation: In a mixing glass, muddle the apple and jalapeno. Add all other ingredients, shake and strain over ice in a Collins glass. Garnish with apple slices and a whole jalapeno. Mexican Standoff Ingredients 2 oz. hibiscus-infused reposado tequila 1 oz tamarind agave reduction 3/4 oz fresh lime juice Preparation: Add all ingredients to a mixing glass full of ice, shake and fine strain into a Collins glass full of ice. Garnish with a lime wheel and a luxardo cherry. For hibiscus tequila: Infuse one cup of dehydrated hibiscus in 750 ml of reposado tequila for five days. For tamarind agave reduction: Reduce 10 ounces of agave with five ounces of water and five ounces of fresh tamarind for 20 minutes on low heat. Let stand for thirty minutes before straining. Remember Me Mang! Ingredients: 2 oz anejo tequila 3/4 oz carpano Antica vermouth 1/2 oz Cherry Heering 2 dashes of The Bitter Truth’s Mole’ Bitters mezcal rinse Preparation: Add all ingredients into mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir until chilled and strain into mescal-rinsed coupe glass. Flamed orange zest for garnish.
