Give it a Shot

Tequila has been enjoying a rise in popularity on European shores so how are hotel bars outside of Mexico elevating the ill-perceived party spirit to the heights it deserves?

Words: Millie Milliken

For time immemorial, tequila has gained a reputation as being a spirit you shot, bookended by a lick of salt and a wedge of lime. It’s a tradition apparently born in the late 19th century when a boom in the spirit resulted in plenty of poor-quality liquids, with the salt and lime or lemon used to mask the taste. It’s a tradition that is still carried out in bars across the world.

However, tequila – and now mezcal – is enjoying the beginnings of a shift in perception.

While its life as a shot drink is still very much alive and kicking, tequila is starting to be appreciated as a nuanced and craft product.

Made using weber blue agave, tequila is a spirit produced in designated regions of Mexico and can come in different styles: blanco, reposado, anejo and extra anejo. Its presence behind highend bars – that aren’t in Mexico – has, and remains, relatively limited. So, how can luxury hotels incorporate it into their menus?

“It all really depends on guests’ drinking habits,” explains Gabriela Moncada Peña, aka Gaby Agave and agave ambassador for Speciality Brands. “For example, if the hotel’s clientele is coming from the US, who are the biggest consumers of tequila outside Mexico, it’s likely they’ll ask for tequila-based drinks as they’re very familiar with the spirit. If they’re from other parts of the world, then selling tequila cocktails might be a little more challenging – especially those staying at more classic and conservative hotels who tend to prefer vodka, gin or brown spirits-based serves.”

Ashley Levy, Mezcalier at Moxy South Beach in Miami, Florida, spends her days expanding her guests’ knowledge of agave spirits: “The majority of guests have heard of or tried mezcal at least once, but this was not the case two

Moxy South Beach’s new Mezcalista bar features more than 200 mezcals, which are used to create speciality cocktails

“Understanding how the agaves are harvested, how long it takes to grow, and the cooking process gives people a deeper understanding of what they are sipping on. There is so much tradition, culture and history with agave spirits.”

ASHLEY LEVY

years ago. I find that agave spirits have this misconception that they need to be drunk in shot form and chased immediately by salt and lime. It’s quite the opposite. Understanding how the agaves are harvested, how long it takes to grow, and the cooking process gives people a deeper understanding of what they are sipping on. There is so much tradition, culture and history with agave spirits.”

Despite tequila’s party reputation, there are several hotel bars in the UK that fly the flag for the spirit. Peña namechecks The Connaught Bar as her number one since its reopening 13 years ago. “They’ve been working with a specialist spirits company to find rare tequilas and were one of the first to offer Tapatio-based cocktails. The team there has pioneered a new style of tequila cocktail and other hotel bars have followed suit. Now you can find tequila cocktails almost everywhere.”

One such institution is the St James Bar in London’s Sofitel St James. When the venue underwent renovation back in 2019, Bar Manager Kostas Bardas wanted to focus on more versatile grains and took the existing tequila and mezcal offering, which included just one mezcal, namely Del Maguey, and build it to its current 30-strong list, featuring entry-level tequilas like Tapatio Blanco and Patron Café, to premium bottlings such as Corte Vetusto Tobala Mezcal and Arette Gran Clase Anejo.

More recently, London’s NoMad hotel, which opened this year, has turned its focus to agave spirits most heavily in its Mexican-themed Side Hustle bar. “It was something that happened organically,” explains Leo Robitschek, Food & Beverage Vice President of owner company Sydell Group. “We have always had a love for agave spirits, and we have quite a diverse selection in the biggest properties,” he says, explaining that NoMad New York has the largest selection, closely followed by LA.

When it came to opening the London outpost and introducing agave spirits behind the bar, the team encountered a challenge other than consumer knowledge – access. “London’s selection is smaller because there isn’t as much availability here,” admits Robitschek. Bardas concurs while also noticing a difference between what’s on offer in the UK versus the US when it comes from guest requests: “We have many Americans who refer to names of tequilas and mezcals we’ve never even heard of.”

At the other end of the scale is, of course, Mexico. One of the country’s main tequila regions, Jalisco, is home to Marriott’s Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa, which makes its own tequila, Casa Magna, and comes in a blanco, reposado and anejo – as well as 180 tequilas in total behind the bar. And Moxy South Beach’s new Mezcalista bar features a whopping 212 mezcals on its menu, with Miami being fortunate enough to have a relatively large agave market compared to the UK. “We source our mezcals from a complex network of importers who bring it in directly from Mexico and are then hand selected by our team,” explains Levy. “We have curated high-end, low-production expressions while culling large production mezcals that aren’t as refined.”

When it comes to serving tequila and mezcal, most guests’ first experience – other than in shot form – is most likely to be of agave cocktails. “Innovative cocktails are the best way to showcase and educate consumers on tequila’s versatility and show its depth of flavours and intensity,” explains Peña.

In NoMad’s Side Hustle, the cocktail menu kicks off with a classic Margarita. “We would never do this in any other of our spaces as it is such a well-known drink,” explains Robitschek of the inclusion on the London menu. “But we put it on here to ease people in so they know there is no need to fear.”

The menu then moves onto more unfamiliar combinations, featuring well-known classics with an agave twist. The Tequila Mai Tai takes the classic rum cocktail and instead uses Olmeca Alta Plata Tequila and Quiquiriqui Mezcal at its base; the Oaxacan Old Fashioned swaps whisky for Tapatio Reposado Tequila and Chichicapa Mezcal; and the Pandan Negroni swaps gin for Tapatio Reposado Tequila.

Over at St James Bar, Bardas likes to elevate tequilas by swapping them in for other spirits too, such as using an anejo’s in a Manhattan. One of Mezcalista’s top-selling cocktails is Sunshine State of Mind, which incorporates flavours of mango and passionfruit alongside orange peel-infused mezcal. Levy and the team also serve its speciality cocktails alongside a small serving of the same mezcal to allow guest to try their base spirit own its own.

Another more involved way to showcase the nuances and explain the heritage and flavour profiles of agave spirits is through flight experiences and as single neat serves. At Mezcalista, the team offers flights called

“When a bar team understands how tequila is made, how it tastes, its story, the various flavours and styles available they are in a much better position to explain it to their customers.”

GABRIELA MONCADA PEÑA

the Espadin Express with more well-known varieties, while the Wild & Rare experience sees limited editions served alongside orange slices with Sal di Gusano (agave worm salt) and heirloom cherry tomatoes. It has also just launched its Chipotle Chapulin ‘Chex Mix’ flight, pairing three mezcals with an authentic Mexican snack – edible grasshoppers (chapulines), which comes with Chex cereal, cashews and golden raisins, dusted with Oaxacan chocolate and chipotle morita powder and mixed with a homemade chipotle marinade.

Robitschek and the Side Hustle team also take their neat service to another level. “Our Agave Service is served in a traditional way with guests’ choice of tequila or mezcal served with sangrita [tomato, cucumber, beetroot and tabasco] or verdita [honeydew melon, pineapple, mint, coriander and jalapeno],” he explains, elaborating that in Mexico, it is typical for farmers to take a flask of tequila or mezcal with them for some sustenance.

In order to offer these experiences though, training is key. For Peña, “when a bar team understands how tequila is made, how it tastes, its story, the various flavours and styles available they are in a much better position to explain it to their customers. An educated staff is really the best way to get curious drinkers to push their boundaries and start experimenting with tequila.”

And while education of staff is still key, Robitschek is hesitant to use the word when it comes to the guest experience. “When you create a space where the category that is the focus isn’t well known, it can become really intimidating if you try and beat people over the head with it. For some it is an education, while for others it’s about the idea of going out to have a good time.”