By Isabel Wade
My husband and I had our New Year’s Eve dinner at our favorite neighborhood restaurant, Nopalito. The food is so outstanding, we thought it would be the perfect place to welcome the new year. How can you go wrong with lamb birria? However, what really caught my attention was the Mayan Sidecar drink. Always on the lookout for lemon as an ingredient (of course!), I waited with anticipation for my new year libation — and was not disappointed! In fact, I think it is the best cocktail I’ve tasted. Nopalito has graciously shared this recipe with For the Love of Lemon readers- so enjoy! Here’s our menu for the evening:
Totopos con Chile 6.00
Tortilla chips, salsa de arbol, cotija cheese, crema and lime
Naranjas con Chile, Limón y Queso 6.00
Cara Cara oranges, clementines, grapefruit, pickled red
onions, chile de arbol, chile guajillo, lime and queso fresco
Enchiladas Potosinas de Camaron 14.50
Seared guajillo chile-corn tortillas, smashed shrimp, tomato,
jalapeño, cabbage, radish, onion, black beans,
queso fresco, crema and salsa escabeche de jalapeño.
Birria de Borrego 16.00
Lamb stewed in ancho chile, roasted tomato, sesame seeds,
spices, onion, cilantro, rice and salsa milagros
And, Nopalito focuses on locally-sourced produce wherever possible!
Mayan Sidecar
Nopalito’s agave twist on a WWI era cocktail rumored to have originated in Paris at Harry’s New York Bar. The story goes that a captain who typically came to the bar in a motorcycle sidecar was under the weather and asked for some brandy to help with his cold. The bartender offered some lemon juice and orange liquor to lighten it up and also add some vitamin C. The Sidecar cocktail was born and became very popular in post-war Paris and London circa 1920. The basic recipe- 2 parts strong(Brandy), 1 part sweet (Cointreau), 1 part sour(lemon juice) served with a sugar rimmed glass.
Nopalito Mayan Sidecar
1 ½ oz. Pueblo Viejo Reposado Tequila
1 oz. Lemon Juice(Bernard Ranch or fresh squeezed)
¾ oz. D’Aristi Xtabentun
Served in a wine glass with a sugared rim, with a “ghost twist” of orange (the peel is twisted and then discarded just to leave the aroma.)
Here’s some additional information about some key ingredients:
Pueblo Viejo
With over 120 years of experience and tradition, Casa San Matías produces some of the world’s finest tequilas. These expressions are made from only the best blue agave, harvested from the rich soil of the Los Altos de Jalisco region, and distilled with the purest spring water. The outcomes are unique tequilas that preserve the legacy of flavor and quality at Casa San Matías.
Casa San Matías was founded in 1886 by Don Delfino González in Magdalena, a small town located west of Tequila, Jalisco. In the 1950s a new distillery was opened in Ojo de Agua, at altitudes above 6,000 feet. The fruitful grounds of Los Altos de Jalisco provide some of the purest spring water in the region. This allows the distillery to produce a wide variety of superior tasting tequilas, all from 100% blue agave. Today, the leadership of Casa San Matías is bestowed in Ms. Carmen Villarreal, the world’s only female distillery head, who leads her team in creating the best tequilas in the region which satisfy the most demanding consumers.
Pueblo Viejo Reposado
Region – Highlands – Double distilled in Stainless Steel – Aged 9 months in American Oak Barrels – 40% alc
Light straw color, brilliant golden hue, medium to full-bodied.The original aromas, from raw agave and the caramel from the cooked agave, remain in addition to the subtle flowery aromas. It is sweet with low alcoholic impact. Flavors of ripe fruits and buttery aromas, in addition to pepper and cinnamon, slightly spicy and fruity.
D’Aristi Xtabentun- a Mayan liqeour produced in the Yucatan region of Mexico. Made from honey derived from the xtabentun(pronounced ish-tah-ben-TOON) flower, rum and anise seed. The name comes from a Mayan legend about two women from the same village, Xtabay and Utz-Colel. Xtabay lived a lustful life and gave freely to the poor, while Utz-Colel was cold and acted superior. When Xtabay died, her true nature was revealed by the sweet-smelling Xtabentun flowers that grew on her grave. When Utz-Colel died, the odor escaping from her grave was quite the opposite, or so the legend goes. Xtabentun was used as a ceremonial drink and has been rumored to have healing abilities.
Strong honey and anise tones with an almost bourbon spice.
*Note this cocktail is great with Mezcal too! Try Del Maguey Vida or San Luis Del Rio for some nice floral hints!
You must be logged in to post a comment.