PARTNER CONTENT WITH
THE PATRÓN DIARIES
Bartender Michael Aredes Mixes Joy, Spice, and Authenticity In the“Look-At-Me” Margarita
words by MOLLY MACGILBERT
photography by JEFF BROWN
Abuelita’s Cafecito is bittersweet in more ways than one.
THE INGREDIENTS OF VICTORIA'S "ABUELITA'S CAFECITO"
Chocolate
MEXICANTOWN CHOCOLATE, CUBAN COFFEE
(BITTER)sweet dreams
When creating cocktails, Garcia asks herself, “What's familiar here? Who am I making this for?" She made Abuelita’s Cafecito for herself, for others who grew up drinking Abuelita™ hot chocolate, and for anyone else seeking the home comforts that a hot chocolate cocktail can bring. And, for Garcia, the cocktail is all about familiar flavors, from the nostalgic hot chocolate to the strong-and-sweet Cafecito to the pure Mexican agave notes of additive-free PATRÓN.
The finishing touch is a piece of chocolate. “It’s a little sweet bite on the side,” Garcia explains, “or you can dip it into the cocktail and let it melt inside.”
Garcia recommends enjoying her Abuelita’s Cafecito the same way she enjoyed her hot chocolate growing up: during the chilly winter months, after a meal with family. “It could pair nicely with a fireplace, cozy socks, and a telenovela,” she says. The cocktail was created to go down easy after a satisfying meal, to serve as a casually luxurious dessert, and to be a comforting nightcap to melt away the bitterness of a cold day.
“When I sip this cocktail, it makes me feel like I’m back in Michigan and it’s 2008,” Garcia says. “It really takes me back to being with my family, enjoying an evening at home. And that’s how I would like other people to feel when they’re enjoying it as well. Home sweet home.”
THE “Abuelita's Cafecito” Recipe
Ingredients
1 ½ ounces PATRÓN Reposado
½ ounce Oroloso sherry
1 ounce coffee concentrate
1 ½ ounces Abuelita™ hot chocolate* with added cinnamon
* Abuelita™ hot chocolate ingredients: sugar, cocoa, vegetable oil, soy lecithin.
Garnish: chocolate
Directions
Add PATRÓN, sherry, and coffee to a glass mug.
Pour in hot chocolate with cinnamon mix.
Stir gently, and garnish with chocolate.
Lime Peel
PATRÓN Reposado
Coffee concentrate
Abuelita™ hot chocolate
Oroloso sherry
Hover over the circles to see what makes up this delicious cocktail.
LEARN MORE ABOUT PATRóN REPOSADO
Conjuring the comforts of home, Garcia’s Abuelita’s Cafecito is the perfect drink for a cold winter night, with the warmth and sweetness of hot chocolate, the depth and strength of Mexican coffee, and roasted agave flavors from additive-free PATRÓN Tequila Reposado.
The cocktail — created by Victoria Garcia, a bartender at an upscale Japanese cocktail bar in New York’s West Village — combines the bitterness of coffee with the sweetness of chocolate, but it was also inspired by bittersweet feelings of homesickness and nostalgia.
A year into living in New York City, Garcia has been longing for a taste of home. “Abuelita's Cafecito came to fruition to tell the story of my roots and missing home,” she says. “I wanted this cocktail to speak to people who have also enjoyed this hot chocolate, and to bring them back home with me.”
Abuelita’s Cafecito is Garcia’s attempt to recapture the warmth of her childhood living room in the Mexicantown neighborhood of Detroit. During those frigid Michigan winters, Garcia’s mother would make Abuelita™ hot chocolate for their large family, and they’d drink it together in front of the TV before bed. “I stopped drinking it later in my adulthood,” Garcia says, “but it always made me feel cozy and brought our family together.”
The cocktail’s coffee component is based on another classic drink in Garcia’s household, though this concoction has Cuban inspiration. A “Cafecito,” which translates to “small coffee,” is also known as a Café Cubano. As its name suggests, it’s a small, dark coffee or espresso topped with a whipped brown sugar crema. Garcia typically makes hers with strong instant coffee, but she used coffee concentrate for the cocktail. “I incorporated coffee with cinnamon here,” she says of her variation. “In Mexico, we like to drink our Cafecito with a little spice and warmth.”
The authentic agave flavor of PATRÓN is another reason why Abuelita’s Cafecito transports Garcia back to the motherland. “I respect the way that PATRÓN is very intentional about how they make their tequilas, how they’re sourcing their agave, and how they’re taking care of the lands,” she says. “That makes a huge difference in the spirit. You can taste the soil and the soul of Mexico.”
Abuelita’s Cafecito also incorporates Oloroso, an off-dry sherry made in Jerez, Spain, which deepens the flavor with “caramel-y, nutty, rounded notes” to complement the bright citrus, warm vanilla, and subtle oak of the barrel-aged PATRÓN.
THE SoIL AND THE soul of mexico
Since Garcia has reached adulthood, tequila has taken over as the communal drink that she bonds with her Mexican family over. “My family really cares about what we’re drinking, so we seek spirits like PATRÓN, which tastes good by itself or in cocktails,” she says.
“I love using PATRÓN in my cocktails because it is an intentionally made, beautiful spirit. It’s additive-free, so we’re not adding any other sugar to this cocktail.”
PARTNER CONTENT WITH
THE PATRÓN DIARIES
Bartender Michael Aredes Mixes Joy, Spice, and Authenticity In the“Look-At-Me” Margarita
Click the circles to see what makes up this delicious cocktail.