New Healthy VIVA XXXII Cocktails for Tequila Day July 24

(Gerry Furth-Sides, cocktail photos furnished by VIVA XXX, bottle by La Fonda Hotel) Proof that Tequila(and Mexcal) are royally honored in this house are the four bottles we just received for a birthday.  And this July 24 Tequila Day, VIVAXXX and La Fonda Hotel in Sante Fe, NM, add a special kick with new cocktail recipes and flights, respectively. Salud.

The healthy aspects of organic tequila are emphasized in the new VIVA XXXII reposado.  Founder Yvonne Niami believes in purposeful, healthy living.  Her VIVA XXXII motto: Looks good.  Tastes good. Does Good. And 10% of all net proceeds of the brand go to animal abuse, prevention.

Burning Desire

Tequila is already one of the healthier spirits being made from the agave plant. VIVA XXXII  pairs perfectly with additional healthy Homemade Pomegranate Grenadine. The Grapefruit Liqueur aids digestion.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz of VIVA XXXII Joven
• 1 oz Homemade Pomegranate Grenadine
• 3/4 oz Orange Grapefruit Liqueur
• 1/2 oz Habanero Tincture

Directions

• Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake
• Strain into Nick & Nora Glass
• Garnish with a Habanero pepper

 

The Chirp

A take on the Oaxacan Old Fashioned, The Chirp has been modified with some intriguing flavor profiles. Using an aged spirit gives the cocktail body, and the spicy coffee chocolate bitters paired with a woody cricket tincture makes it shine.  Not only are crickets environmentally stable, but they also contain 65% protein, omegas 3 and 6, and are high in calcium and vitamin B12.  In fact, we have always planned to go into this business, and what an introduction to the product in America!

Ingredients

• 2 oz VIVA XXXII Reposado
• 1/4 oz Agave Syrup
• 4 Dashes Coffee Cubeb, Cocoa Nib, Hot Pepper Bitters
• 4 Dashes Dry Roasted Cricket Tincture

Directions

• Combine all ingredients and stir
• Strain into double rocks glass over ice
• Garnished with Expressed Lemon Peel

I Don’t Carrot at All

 

A refreshing brunch cocktail with health benefits, the turmeric powder in “I Don’t Carrot All” helps fight inflammation, acts as an antioxidant, improves liver function, and aids digestion. The benefits of a carrot juice are vitamins C, D E and K, and have minerals like magnesium, potassium, and calcium.

Ingredients

• 2 oz VIVA XXXII Reposado Tequila
• 1 oz Carrot Juice
• 3/4 oz Turmeric Simple Syrup (1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder)
• 3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Directions

• Combine ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake
• Pour into a Collins glass
• Top with Soda Water
• Top with Crushed Ice
• Garnish with Basil Leaf

The Superfood Sour

A healthy take on a tequila sour, The Superfood Sour combines aloe and goji berries, and takes it a step further, by substituting unsalted (vegan-friendly) garbanzo bean water for the traditional egg white. G berries promote healthy skin, stabilize blood sugar, detoxify the liver, boost fertility and improve immune function.

 

 Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Goji Berry Infused VIVA XXXII Joven
• 1 oz Unsalted Garbanzo Been Water
• 1/2 oz Chareau Aloe Liqueur
• 1/2 oz Lemon Juice
• 1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Directions

• Combine ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake with Ice
• Strain back into the tin
• Dry Shake
• Strain into Martini Glass
• Garnish with Goji Berries

 

Shake to the Beet 

 

VIVA XXX pairs perfectly with beet juice because of its health qualities, such as lowering blood pressure, being a good source of potassium, liver support, improvement in exercise stamina, etc. The ginger ingredient aids digestion removes excess gas and improves bone health. This cocktail can also double down as a Mexican Mule over ice topped off with ginger beer. Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz of VIVA XXXII Joven
• 1 oz Fresh Squeezed Beet juice
• 3/4 oz Ginger Syrup
• 1/2 oz Lime Juice
• 1/4 Simple Syrup

Directions

• Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake
• Strain into Nick & Nora Glass
• Garnish with Sprig of Thyme

 La Fonda on the Plaza Tasting Flight

For those lucky enough to travel to Santa Fe, New Mexico La Fonda on the Plaza offers a unique tasting flight to celebrate Tequila Day this year.

For the special $19 (!) tequila “flight of four” offered in La Fonda’s La Fiesta Lounge Carmona has chosen offerings from Herradura,  whose agave is roasted in traditional clay ovens, fermented with ambient yeast, and aged in well seasoned American oak barrels.

For more information, please see: //www.lafondasantafe.com/dining-entertainment/la-fiesta-lounge

Beverage Manager Omar Carmona challenges all tequila lover (including me) to switch to a tequila drink other than shots.  Originally from Guatemala, Carmona was first introduced to tequila by his wife’s family in Jalisco, Mexico, near Santiago de Tequila, the birthplace of the spirit  (see our post link below).  His father-in-law was a jimador (a farmer who harvests agave plants). Carmona began exploring the profusion of distilleries in the area, and now enjoys sharing his keen knowledge of tequila with bar patrons.

Carmona stocks some 20 different brands of tequila at any given time, which must all be 100% agave, and never a “mixto” (a bastardized version of the real thing that can contain 49% neutral cane spirit.)  The most expensive, Gran Patrón Burdeos Anejo, can retail for upwards of $500 a bottle.

Jose Cuervo Tequila: Improving with each Next Generation