Get Spirited

Must-Have: CURAÇAO

Leila Miller says it’s imperative to have a good Curaçao; her favorite is the Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao.

There are a variety of traditional base spirits and liquors made throughout Central and South America – aguardiente, for example, is produced throughout the continent. Each country has its own spin on it: in Chile, it’s made with the skins and pulp of grapes; in Colombia and Ecuador, it’s made with sugarcane; in Colombia, it’s flavored with anise seed. You can find aguardiente locally at Cocina Latina in the Central West End.

Brazilians, meanwhile, are all about cachaça, which is liquor made from fermented sugarcane juice. At Yemanja and Brasilia, you can enjoy it in the national drink of Brazil, the Caipirinha: cachaça with muddled lime and sugar.

Tequila 101

For a quality, affordable tequila, Kelly Filla suggests Espolòn or Milagro.

Sotol, meanwhile, is an alcohol that comes from northern Mexico and is distilled from the plant Desert Spoon; it tends to be smoother than tequila with a distinct grassy flavor. Enjoy it in a specialty cocktail at Taqueria Morita, the newest venture from Take Root Hospitality.

The rising star on the scene is mezcal –tequila’s smoky relative. At Nixta, located in Botanical Heights, you can sample more than 40 different mezcals. Unlike tequila, which is only made with blue agave, mezcal can be made from more than 30 different agave species, each lending its own flavor to the finished product.

Which mezcal should I buy?

Ben Poremba recommends the mezcal brand Banhez.

“Sometimes [mezcal] tastes like an ashtray,” he says. “But Banhez has this line where the smoke is not the most prominent flavor profile. It’s really in the background. There’s a lot going on.”