Santo Tequila asked top bartenders to create cocktails that Transcend the Ordinary using their authentic 100% Blue Weber agave tequila for a higher quality experience.

Out of hundreds of entries these TWENTY (20)* cocktails Transcend the Ordinary according to our judges! (*Finalist cocktails will be announced FIVE (5) per week in no order, for a total of TWENTY (20) Finalists cocktails.

Thank you to all the bartenders who participated. Stay tuned for announcement of 5 Bartender Finalists chosen by our judges to compete for Cash Prizes coming soon.

 

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Antonio Gonzales

I Practice Santeria

Ordinary can mean many things to many people as we all have our own definitions, and what connects everyone to the ordinary is when we pass the things or people that are part of our everyday life without seeing the beauty in the stories they tell. So, what would transcend the ordinary? Finding excellence in those seemingly ordinary and everyday things. My inspiration for this drink was found in everyday ingredients that are easily accessible to go with the nuanced flavor of Santo Mezquila. Because if you are inspired, nothing is ordinary.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz Santo Mezquila
• 1/2 oz Barenjager Honey
• 1 oz Coconut Creme
• 3/4 oz Passion Fruit Puree
• 3/4 oz Blood Orange Juice
• 3 inches of Rosemary stock leaves
• 2 coins of Serrano Chile

Preparation: Muddle Serrano Chile pepper. Add remaining ingredients into shaker tin. Add ice. Shake for 5 seconds Strain over new ice. Pour over goblet style glass. Garnish with lemon twist on rim and small spring of rosemary.

 

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David Leon

Sippin Down Montrose

Take a sip and let this cocktail bring your taste buds to another level. My inspiration for this cocktail comes from the flavors of the Caribbean, Mojo pork, and a distant memory of a time my friends/family and I were enjoying Mezcal over at Montrose & Milwaukee Street in Chicago, IL. (No relation to the rock band Montrose, or is there?) Each ingredient and flavor found in this cocktail can be seen representing the dish of Mojo pork (just like Guy did) and the lovely memory of celebrating with friends on Montrose Street where it is 79°F outside, a ton of Latin food, and of course Mezcal! May these fond memories lift us up and remind us why we do what we do. Salud!

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Mojo infused Santo Mezquila
• 1/2 oz Orange Juice
• 1/2 oz Lime Juice
• 1/2 oz Smoked Black Pepper Tomato Shrub*

Preparation: Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Fill cocktail shaker with cubed ice. Seal and shake cocktail for 5-7 Seconds (Depending on style of ice). Strain cocktail into your glass filled with ice. (For Garnish) Peel your orange peel. Express oils over top. Cut peel into strips and place two overlapping on top. Sprinkle Lime & Salt over the overlapping peels Enjoy!! *Smoked Black pepper Tomato Shrub: 2 cups Roma Tomatoes 1 tbsp Fresh black pepper Pinch of salt 1 cup water 3 dashes Australian Bitters Company Smoke Bitters. Place all ingredients into a pot, bring to a boil, let simmer on med/low until color is removed from tomatoes. Add, 1 cup of granulated cane sugar Stir until dissolved. Add 1 cup of white vinegar and let sit on low heat for 5 min. Remove from heat and bring to room temperature before serving. Garnish with orange peel expressed and cut in strips covered with dehydrated Lime powder Lime & Black Lava Salt.

 

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Timmie Hoffman

Old Memories

My inspiration for this cocktail comes from two of my favorite places. Mexico City and Northern New Mexico. There is nothing ordinary about the nature in Northern New Mexico, the people, or the flavors. Same goes for Mexico City. So, I used flavors from food (fire roasted green Chile, spice and fruit) and two of my favorite cocktails (a Margarita and the Michelada) And created a cocktail that reminded me of it all. The fusion of a blended Mezcal and tequila is subtly smoky, unique, smooth and takes you back to Mexico in one sip. I mixed it with flavors of green Chile roasted salsa, earthy Nixta licor de elote and tart yet sweet pineapple juice. I hope when you sip this you think of an extraordinary travel memory, gathering with friend or camping on a mountain top.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Santos Mezquila
• 1 oz roasted green chile salsa
• 3/4 oz acid adjusted charred pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz Nixta licor de elote
• 1/4 oz lime juice

Preparation: Add all ingredients (Santo mezquila, roasted green chile salsa, acid adjusted charred pineapple juice, Nixta licor de elote, and lime juice) into bigger shaker tin and add ice to the top of smaller shaker tin. Shake until shaker is frosty on the outside (about 25 seconds) and use strainer and fine strain in a rocks glass over ice. Salsa recipe- 1 Tbsp of olive oil and heat pan, add 1 hatch green Chile, 1 tomatillo, 1 small slice of a sweet onion, and a slice a red bell pepper and roast for about 30 min or until charred marks. Let cool. Add into a blender with a splash of fresh pineapple juice, a pinch of garlic powder, pink sea salt and smoked paprika, Acid adjusted pineapple juice – 4% of the weight of pineapple juice. 400 grams of pineapple juice to 16 grams of citric acid. Garnish with grilled pineapple

 

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Cory Mendonca

The Supper Club Cocktail

The Supper Club Cocktail is an homage to both the good old days of Las Vegas, and the city’s current culinary prowess, loosely inspired by the somewhat forgotten “Nevada Cocktail” from the 1940’s. I looked to transcend the ordinary in this build by bringing together the core elements of what I imagine a classic supper club experience would be and put it in (on) the glass. Just as the Santo Mezquila showcases the art of blending, I looked to balance all the supper club feels of timeless classic cocktails, savory engaging flavors, and a mesmerizing show into a single serve.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz. Santo Mezquila
• 3/4 oz. Fresh Grapefruit Juice
• 1/2 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
• 1/2 oz. Tarragon Infused, Navy Strength Rum (Wray & Nephew)*
• 1/2 oz. Agave Nectar
• 3/4 oz. Grapefruit-Balsamic Shrub**

Preparation: Add Santo Mezquila, infused rum, grapefruit & lime juices, agave nectar and shrub to a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake vigorously for 25-30 seconds. Strain with Hawthorne strainer and fine mesh strainer to a chilled cocktail coupe. Use an attached (Cocktail Cuffs) or side serve demitasse spoon for garnish, layering collectively 1 bite worth of the Grapefruit Cocktail Mignonette, Goat Milk Gouda, and 2-3 Tarragon Leaves. Garnish with Canapé sized layered demitasse spoon of Grapefruit Cocktail ***Mignonette, Goat Milk Gouda, and 2-3 fresh Tarragon leaves. Garnish: Goat Milk Gouda Cheese, 2-3 fresh Tarragon leaves, and Grapefruit Shrub Cocktail Mignonette***

*Prepare Tarragon Infused Rum:

Add 1/4 oz. Fresh Tarragon (1-2 sprigs) per 2 oz. Wray & Nephew or similar proof white rum in mason jar. Seal and allow to sit at room temperature for 6 hours, then discard herbs. Keep in airtight container.

**Grapefruit-Balsamic Shrub:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c. small, diced Grapefruit
• 1 oz. Honey
• 1 oz. White Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 oz. Simple Syrup

Preparation: Combine in a mason jar. Stir, seal, and let sit at room temperature for 6 hours. Strain, reserving grapefruit solids (mignonette) refrigerated, for garnish.

 

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Angela Wood

TNT Mas Tequila

I created this cocktail by sticking to my roots. My grandmother was a chef for her entire life and she believed in using fresh ingredients with very little waste. I loved to watch her create and build flavors and rarely ever used recipes that she didn’t write herself. I was so inspired that she used techniques that were passed down to her. So, using a technique that dates back to the 1800’s was definitely my way of paying ode to her. We have gotten too comfortable with artificial flavors and sweeteners and other products that are tragically harmful to our health and the production of them is taking a toll on our environment. So, I firmly believe that the best concept to “Transcend the Ordinary,” was to bring it way back and focus on the spirit itself by using clean and sustainable ingredients that are pleasant to any person’s palette, while also taking the time to clarify the aggressive notes in my natural ingredients. Mixology is a science and should be as intellectual as it is playful. This cocktail has so many layers of flavors that you can sip it and taste each ingredient individually, yet it’s balanced so well that it works harmoniously together. It is free from disagreement or dissent… and to me, that is not ordinary by any means. secondary note: I froze a dried lemon wheel and star anise in a clear rocks cube, but I think it would lend more to the palette to garnish with the star anise on top of the cube with a soaked cinnamon stick tucked behind the ice. I also enjoy tucking a slapped mint leaf in there too because it’s a complement to herbal cocktails, but I didn’t want to distract from the flavor of this cocktail by masking it too much, so I left it out. All of these are optional because there are already so many things going on once it’s been sipped and moved around over the tongue. This is why I opted to add them to the Cube for this competition only. I wanted to focus only on the cocktail profile.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz of fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 3 oz of lemon and brown sugar Oleo Saccharum*
• 8 oz of strong chai tea infused brown sugar and spiced simple syrup**
• 8 oz santo reposado tequila
• 4 hard dashes of black walnut bitters
• 1C whole milk for clarifying

Preparation: Milk washing Process: Add all cocktail ingredients together and stir. Cocktail will be dark and very concentrated. Pour 1C of whole milk into a glass bowl, and slowly add the cocktail mixture into the milk while stirring to activate the curdling process. Once the milk has begun to curdle, let this sit for hours or up to overnight… stirring occasionally. Once the cocktail has completely separated from the curds, strain this mixture over a coffee filter or in a centrifuge if you have access to one. I strained this thru the curds 3 times until I saw that the cocktail was completely clear. It came out a beautiful amber color. This process pulled ALL of the astringent from the tequila and the tannins from the tea and lemon. I then chilled the clarified cocktail batch until I was ready to use it. It can be either shaken (which I would do a dry shake with a strainer ball to create a froth because Its already chilled and i don’t want to water it down, this is great for a coupe glass) Or it can be served over an ice ball in a rocks glass. I chose the rocks glass because I wanted my garnish in the Cube. This small batch can be made into about 4 cocktails depending on your glassware choices. Optional Garnish gold flake / star anise / dried lemon / cinnamon stick / mint leaves I froze a dried lemon wheel and star anise in a clear rocks cube.

*Lemon and Brown Sugar Oleo Saccharum (Batched)

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ C (packed) Lemon Peels- about 8 lemons
• ⅔ C Light Brown Sugar
• 2TBS Boiling Water
• 1 Tbs High Proof Vodka – optional

Preparation: Peel the citrus avoiding the pith. Add brown sugar onto the peels and stir to coat. Let the mixture sit covered. overnight Strain off the liquid into a bottle. Leave the peels in their original container (the liquid has been strained off) and pour boiling water over the peels to rinse remaining sugar and oils. Strain off liquid again into the same bottle as the first straining Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Add a splash of vodka for extended life.

**Chai tea infused brown sugar and spice simple syrup

• Ingredients:
• 1C strong brewed Chai Tea (I used 4 bags & 8oz of boiling water to steep)
• 1 C light brown sugar
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 1 vanilla bean scored lengthwise

Preparation: Add all ingredients to a small sauce pot and stir constantly until boiling. Let sit until cooled completely so the spices can steep. Once cooled, use as a spiced simple syrup for any recipe. Vodka can be added to help give it a longer life but not necessary if using it immediately. I typically remove the spice bits and keep for garnishes.