MAGOS SOUR

Created by bartender Gerardo Reza, this is the most technical drink on the list and the one worth the extra four minutes.

The syrup is the unusual part. Rose and bell pepper sounds wrong on paper and lands somewhere floral and savory at the same time.

What you need

• 2 oz Los Magos Sotol Blanco
• .75 oz rose and bell pepper syrup
• .5 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 egg white
• 2 to 3 dashes of bitters

How to make it

1. Combine everything in a shaker with no ice and shake hard for 15 seconds to emulsify the egg white.
2. Add ice and shake again for 12 seconds.
3. Double strain into a chilled coupe.
4. Let the foam settle, then dash the bitters on top and garnish with a lemon peel.

The dry shake first is what builds the foam. Doing it the other way round gives you a thin, bubbly head that collapses in a minute.

Rose and bell pepper syrup

Simmer one cup sugar and one cup water with half a chopped red bell pepper for 10 minutes. Take it off the heat, add a tablespoon of dried rose petals, and leave it 15 minutes. Strain and refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Why sotol works here

Sours live on the tension between sharp and rich. Whiskey brings the richness and lemon brings the sharp, and egg white sits between them.

Sotol changes the middle of that. The vegetal note in our Blanco lines up with the bell pepper in the syrup, and the black pepper carries through the foam where softer spirits get muffled. The rose stays floral instead of turning perfumed, because there's enough savory underneath to hold it down.

Questions we get

Can I skip the egg white?
Use .75 oz aquafaba, the liquid from a can of chickpeas. It foams almost identically.

Which bitters?
Angostura is the safe answer. Peychaud's leans it more floral.

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Make it with the bottle it was built for.
Los Magos Sotol Blanco, 750ml. Wild-harvested and triple distilled, with no additives.