Contemplating a midweek detox? Think again, because July 24 marks National Tequila Day.
If taking your tequila neat seems a little hardcore for a Wednesday, London’s bars and restaurants also offer a plethora of tequila and mezcal cocktails.
These are the beautifully balanced beverages that show the Mexican spirit to be so much more than a party-starting shot.
Yu-ka t’ann at Ella Canta
This slick contemporary Mexican restaurant from celebrity chef Martha Ortiz offers a cocktail menu packed with South American flavours. The Yu-ka t’ann offers Patron Silver Tequila washed with avocado honey, and mixed with chilli and mandarin infused agave syrup, and XTA anise liqueur.
1 Hamilton Place, Park Lane, W1J 7QY, ellacanta.com
Oaxaca Gimlet at 45 Jermyn St.
It’s off to Oaxaca in St James’s restaurant 45 Jermyn St., where the simple gimlet is getting a tequila fuelled revamp. Quiquiriqui mezcal is served with pink grapefruit flavours (both fresh and in a minted cordial), green Chartreuse and a couple of drops of the bar’s homemade acid.
45 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6DN, 45jermynst.com
The Founder at Beaufort Bar
If you take your tequila with a side of drama, head to Beaufort Bar at the Savoy hotel. The black and gold-decorated bar serves The Founder on its Music, Magic and Drama cocktail menu: a grown-up mix of Patron Silver tequila, Martini Rubino vermouth, verjus, Audemus Unami and a shrub made with tomato and celery.
The Savoy, Strand, WC2R 0EZ, thesavoylondon.com
Oaxaca at Oriole
The menu at Oriole aims to take its guests around the world, and offers a highly adequate pitstop in Mexico. The Oaxaca explores the nuttier possibilities of the spirit, mixing Montelobos mezcal with honey-infused Roots Rakamelo liqueur, a cactus puree, pumpkin seed tahini, and a foam inspired by the south American dessert dulce de batata.
East Poultry Avenue, EC1A 9LH, oriolebar.com
Pink Chihuahua at the Pink Chihuahua
There’s a party going on downstairs at restaurant El Camion, where its cocktail bar the Pink Chihuahua serves up a stonking list of 300 tequilas and mezcals. Their eponymous signature cocktail blends Olmeca Altos Plata tequila with orgeat, lime pomegranate juice (a house favourite) and egg white.
25-27 Brewer Street, W1F 0RR, elcamion.co.uk
Margarita at Cafe Pacifico
If you want to keep your tequila sipping traditional, then there’s surely no better place to do it than at Cafe Pacifico, London’s oldest Mexican restaurant. Margaritas are made with either Ocho Blanco or Ocho Reposado tequila, and can be enjoyed as a salt rimmed single serving or from a party-starting pitcher.
5 Langley Street, WC2H 9JA, cafe-pacifico.com
