I really can’t exaggerate how good the cocktail menu was at Padrecito, the upscale Cole Valley tacquería that tragically didn’t survive the pandemic. (Happily the bar director, David Ruiz, did and he’s currently running Stillwater with his wife in Fairfax—so check it out if you’re in the neighborhood). But nearly as awesome as the drinks themselves was the menu—which graphed out like a geological map the contents of each cocktail so you could recreate it (or get close) at home. What you’re looking at above is a bad printout of a bad cellphone photo my ex-husband and I snapped in 2013 when we visited and then used to reverse engineer the cocktails. The recipes I’ve managed to work out are below, and I know I got pretty close because compared to this video of David Ruiz making the Costa del Oro, I only got one component slightly off (the shrub; I had double the amount—still good!)
I’ll start with the Piñata because I just now got around to figuring it out (and remembering to buy pineapple AND jalapeño at the same time) and MAN is it good. I would never have thought to use rosemary to punch up the “pine” in the pineapple, but it’s brilliant. My other favorite Padrecito cocktail, which I make pretty frequently because it doesn’t require a lot of fresh ingredients, is the Misterioso. Mezcal and crème de cassis are another unlikely combo that demonstrates Ruiz’s next-level genius.
Piñata
- 2 oz reposado or añejo tequila (pretty much same thing)
- 1 oz fresh-squeezed pineapple juice (I muddle 4-ish pineapple chunks in a cocktail strainer, dump that into a fine-mesh strainer, and then use the muddler to push the juice through into a measuring cup. Don’t use store-bought pineapple juice—you’ll be sad)
- 1 slice jalapeño
- 1 half lime, cut into quarters
- 2 small rosemary sprigs
- dash Angostura bitters
Muddle lime eighths, 1 of the rosemary sprigs, and the jalapeño slice in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add the juice, tequila, and ice. Shake and serve up in a coupe garnished with 2nd sprig of rosemary (I think based on the picture that Padrecito might have served it over the rocks in a rocks or highball glass, but [shrug emoji]).
Misterioso
- 1 1/2 oz mezcal
- 1/2 oz allspice dram
- 1/2 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 oz crème de cassis
Shake with ice and serve up in a rocks glass.
Gaucho
- 2 oz rye whiskey
- 1 oz sparkling apple juice
- 1 T maple syrup
- 1/2 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake everything but apple juice with ice and serve over in a Collins glass; top with sparkling apple and probably a garnish—maybe a thin slice of apple? Super good.
Padrecito
- 1 oz blanco tequila
- 1 oz mezcal
- 1 oz agave syrup
- juice of 1/2 lime
Stir everything in shaker with ice and pour over a large ice cube in a rocks glass.
La Arma
- 2 oz añejo tequila
- 1/2 oz coffee liqueur
- Scant 1/2 oz orange curaçao or Grand mariner
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Same as Padrecito.
Roquero
- 1 1/2 oz blanco tequila
- 3/4 oz gran Classico amaro
- 1 tsp Maraschino liqueur
- Twist of lemon
It’s like a Mexican MartinezStir over ice and serve over a big ice cube in a rocks glass with the lemon twist. I add a brandied cherry sometimes as well and it is none the worse for it.
Costa del Oro
- 2 oz pisco
- 1/2 oz seasonal shrub (blood orange is what Ruiz uses in the video; I think I used blueberry fig lavender b/c that’s what I had! This drink is tiki-adjacent and so it’s all good…)
- 1/2 oz lime juice
- 1/2 oz apricot jam
- 2 oz ginger beer
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake first 4 ingredients with ice in a shaker and pour over ice in a Collins or highball glass. Top with ginger beer and bitters and garnish with thin slice of blood orange or whatever fruit is in the shrub.
The Rookery 