Play Me a Recipe

Gracias Madre's Maxwell Reis makes Agave Cocktails

Episode Summary

Maxwell Reis, beverage director at L.A.'s Gracias Madre, makes the restaurant's famous Purista Margarita, as well as the refreshing Oaxacan Cup (a riff on the Gordon's Cup that swaps mezcal for gin).

Episode Notes

On Play Me a Recipe, your favorite cooks will walk you through their most treasured recipes, offering all the insider tips, stories, and tricks you won't get from a written recipe—and you'll be right alongside them, every step of the way. 

Purista Margarita Recipe
Makes 2 cocktails

Chile Salt & Agave Syrup

• 1/2 cup Himalayan salt
• 2 teaspoons chipotle powder
• 2/3 cup agave nectar
• 1/3 cup boiling water

Cocktails

• 4 ounces blanco tequila or mezcal
• 4 dashes orange bitters
• 2 ounces fresh lime juice
• 3/4 ounce agave syrup
• Chile salt
• Lime peel or jalapeño slice, for the rim

1. Make the chile salt: In a small jar, add the salt and chipotle powder. Store covered for up to 1 month.
2. Make the agave syrup: In a medium jar, add the agave and water and stir until the agave has dissolved into the water. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
3. Make the cocktails: In a cocktail shaker with ice, add the tequila, bitters, lime juice, and 3/4 ounce of the agave syrup. Shake well. Dip two rocks glasses in the chile salt and add ice. Strain the tequila mixture over the ice and garnish with a lime peel or jalapeño.

Oaxacan Cup Recipe

Makes 2 cocktails

Cocktails

• 4 ounces mezcal
• 1 lime, sliced into wedges
• 12-16 slices of Persian cucumber (about two cucumbers)
• 4-6 slices of jalepeño (about 1 chile)
• 1 1/2 ounces agave syrup (see above)
• 1 cup ice cubes
• Chile salt (see above)
• 1 splash soda water

1. Make the chile salt: In a small jar, add the salt and chipotle powder. Store covered for up to 1 month.
2. Make the agave syrup: In a medium jar, add the agave and water and stir until the agave has dissolved into the water. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
3. Muddle cucumbers, lime wedges and jalapeños in a shaker tin. Add agave syrup, mezcal, and ice cubes, and roughly shake.
4. Add a splash of soda water, then pour contents of shaker tin into two glasses.
5. Garnish with cucumber wheel and sprinkle of chile salt.

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Lobby Time Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/