Happy 2020 everyone. I hope the new year has treated you well so far. I personally can’t wait until 2021 so I can start saying “hindsight is 2020” like the dad joke enthusiast that I am.
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January 1st is a big day. You reflect on the past year, resolve to become a better version of yourself, and maybe even decide to abstain from booze for the next 31 days as part of Dry January. Whatever your ritual may be, what’s important is that you start the year on the right foot. A little luck never hurts either.
For those of you not partaking in Dry January, I’ve got a great cocktail to get your 2020 started. I call it the San Mango in honor of the (probably fictional) patron saint of mangoes. San Mango blesses this cocktail twice – once in the form of a mango-infused sotol and again as a mango & bay leaf simple syrup. I round it out with cranberry juice for acidity, Ancho Reyes for spice and China China Amer for a little depth of flavor. You can think of it as a slightly smokey, savory and spicy take on a Sidecar.
The Day Before, Part 1 – Make the mango-infused sotol. Sotol is a plant that primarily grows in Mexico, but can also be found in parts of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Its name translates to desert spoon, and while the spirit of the same name is prepared similarly to mezcal and tequila (which are both distilled from agave) a sotol plant is actually more closely related to an asparagus plant than an agave.
One of the beautiful things about sotol is that the flavor of the spirit varies based on the region in which the plant is grown. Sotol captures the terroir of its environment. For this particular infusion I wanted a sotol with a bold smokey profile, so I chose Sotol La Higuera Wheeleri. Add 1 cup of diced mango to 750 ml of sotol and let it infuse for at least 24 hours in an airtight container.
The Day Before, Part 2 – Make the mango & bay leaf simple syrup. We’ve got mango infused into the sotol, and now we’re gonna add a little more mango flavor in the form of a simple syrup that also incorporates the subtle savory spice of dried bay leaves (think black peppery). To make the syrup, add 1/2 cup diced mango, 5 bay leaves, 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar to a saucepan over low heat. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved, then remove the saucepan from the heat and allow it to cool. Pour everything into a airtight container to store in the fridge overnight.
Step 1 – Add 1 3/4 oz mango-infused sotol to a mixing glass filled with ice. Make sure you strain out any residual bits of mango.
Step 2 – Add 1 oz unsweetened cranberry juice. Cranberry juice brings acidity to this drink – the same way that lime brings acidity to a margarita or lemon brings acidity to a Sidecar. Because we will be adding additional sugars in the form of the mango & bay leaf syrup, make sure you buy pure unsweetened cranberry juice.
Step 3 – Add 1/2 oz mango & bay leaf simple syrup. Similar to the sotol infusion, make sure you strain out any residual bits of mango and bay leaf.
Step 4 – Add 1/4 oz China China Amer. China China Amer is a orange liqueur, similar to Cointreau but a little more bitter since it is made from both sweet oranges from Valencia and bitter oranges from Curaçao.
Step 5 – Add 1/4 oz Ancho Reyes. A little spice, thanks to this 80-proof ancho chile liqueur.
Step 6 – Add bitters. I use 2 dashes Greenbar Apple Bitters and 6 dashes Bittermen’s spiced cranberry bitters to round out the drink and bring all the flavors together.
Step 7 – Stir for 20 seconds and strain into a coupe glass. This cocktail also works well as highball poured over ice and topped with club soda. If you choose to serve it that way, you only need to stir it for 5-10 seconds to combine the ingredients since the club soda will provide the dilution you need.
Step 8 – For garnish, skewer some cubed mango sprinkled with tajin. Tajin is a spice blend of chile, lime and salt. Really any chile blend you like will suffice. Pro Tip: Skewer the unseasoned mango first and rest the skewer on the glass to see which side of the mango ends facing up, then remove the skewer and season only the “facing up” side of the mango to avoid seasoning your drink inadvertently.
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San Mango
PAIRS WELL WITH “THE NEW YEAR” BY DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 oz mango-infused La Higuera Sotol
- 1 oz cranberry juice
- 1/2 oz mango & bay leaf simple syrup
- 1/4 oz China China Amer
- 1/4 oz Ancho Reyes
- 6 dashes Bittermen’s spiced cranberry bitters
- 2 dashes Greenbar apple bitters
- Diced mango seasoned with tajin (for garnish)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass filled with ice.
- Stir for 20 seconds, then strain into a coupe glass.
- Slide diced mango onto a cocktail skewer and sprinkle one side with tajin. Balance cocktail skewer on coupe glass rim for garnish.