Ask A Sacramento Bartender: Your Best Tequila Cocktail
Most of the time when you ask a bartender what they can do with tequila the answer is always a margarita and your options are blended or on the rocks with salt or no salt. Sacramento has a very unique talent pool when it comes to bartenders. The Mexican restaurant Zocalo has been included in several Best Of lists under many different categories over the last several years. A talented local expert was willing to offer their best tequila cocktail. Check out the submission below by Zocalo manager and bartender Nicholas Vasilas.
Nicholas Vasilas
Zocalo
1801 Capitol Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 441-0303
www.zocalosacramento.com
Nicholas Vasilas has been a bartender and manager at Zocalo's Midtown Sacramento restaurant for the past four years since he moved to the region from Santa Barbara California. With 12 years experience in the field, Vasilas has a vast repertoire and knowledge of specialty cocktails. When he isn't working, Nicholas can be found riding his tandem bicycle around Midtown with his wife and their dog. Vasilas was generous enough to share his own five recipes of delicious and refreshing tequila cocktails. If you like tequila and always wanted to know what else you can do with it then pay close attention and get ready to drink.
Corazon Puro:
1/2 Oz Pomegranate Juice
Porche:
Gently muddle cilantro, jalapeno and lemon juice, add tequila, shake over ice, double strain into a collins glass with a rim lined with chili salt and finish with a press of equal parts soda water and sprite.
Combine tequila and agave nectar in an Irish Coffee glass and fill it with hot water. Finish the drink with a thick peel of orange and a single clove.
Classic Paloma:
Fresh Squeezed grapefruit juice
Combine ingredients in a tall glass with a salted rim.
Jalisco Mojito:
Muddle mint leaves with lime juice, add simple syrup and tequila and pour over ice topped with soda water.
Remember that Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner and things can get crazy at all Mexican restaurants. As an alternative to traditional Cinco de Mayo events you could always grab some Mexican food from your favorite restaurant, get some of the above ingredients and try some of the recipes here. If you want to try some of these recipes from the guy who makes them on a regular basis, get down to Zocalo and have a seat at the bar while Vasilas is working.
Related: 5 Gin Cocktail Recipes For Your Next Party
As a hospitality professional Andy Soto has worked every facet of the industry. He currently leads the team at Spectrum Restaurant Consulting. He started writing a hospitality blog in 2009 and restaurant writing for Sacramento Press in 2010. In 2011 Andy became a Sacramento Restaurant Examiner for Examiner.com. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
