Transcript: Octavio Pause

Cocktails on the Fly
Episode “Octavio Pause, Mexican Mojito”

Alberta: Mojito’s, we all love them. Why? Because there super darn tasty, they are fresh, they are tangy, they’re good, but you know what that is a Cuban thing. It is from Cuba and I’m going to make you a Mexican Mojito, okay, it is going to be Mexican style alright? We are going to make it with tequila, I am going to celebrate the great Mexican author, poet, and statesmen Octavio Paz, by calling my cocktail the Octavio Pause, it is a pun. You get it? I love puns. That is why I cannot wait to make you my lovely cocktail, the Hot for Peacher.
Anyways, right now we’re going to make a Mexican Mojito. You know how we’re going to make it? We are going to use some cilantro; it is going to be so super tasty. So first of all let’s start off with this great tequila Grand Centenario, this is a really nice full agave tequila. I’m going to put in an ounce and ½. Start off with a glass that you can muddle in, something strong, tempered glass. I call this my summer glass; you want to be able to muddle in there and to get right in. So don’t use any fragile tall glasses.
So we have an ounce and ½ of Grand Centenario tequila or whatever kind of tequila you like, I like Repasado because Repasado has a nice spiciness but it is aged a little bit, it has a good taste. OK and then an ounce of fresh lime. Then in another episode I made this super tasty citrus sugar, it has got an orange peel that adds a nice orange creaminess to the cocktail, so I’m going to use about an ounce and ½ of that.
Then Aperol, a little splash of Aperol, this is a nice kind of citrusy, orangey flavour, then some Cointreau. I want about half an ounce of that and then we are going to put our cilantro in. Treat the cilantro like mint, you take the mint and you separate the leaves from the stems. That’s what I want you to do, wash it carefully you do not want any gravel in your cocktail, separate the leaves from the stems, you want to leave a couple for your garnish. Then you put in your cocktail glass, your muddling class like that. Then add a couple of rounds of orange to give it a nice bright citrusy flavour.
Then you are ready to muddle, now I don’t know if anyone has seen my Flighito recipe show and that is where I tell you, or my muddling show. Go back and check them out because I am telling you, you don’t pulverize, you just gently crush, he just want to let out the flavours you do not want to pulverize. Pulverizing lets out the bitterness, it breaks and up too much, sometimes if you pulverize they get stuck in your teeth and as you’re talking to some cute guy you are like hi I have got a big ol piece right their. It is not looking good OK? I have my producer checking for me before I start my show so that does not happen.
Alright so I am muddling, muddle, muddle, muddle, gently pressing the flavours out. Now I like to use the rounds of the orange because I do like the appeals in it. The peels provide a kind of nice little bitterness, it is very light. I’m not talking about a bitter cocktail, it just adds some flavour. A nice muddle, OK let’s put some ice in there. We got some ice going, woah; I caught that with my belly, lucky that it is cocktail size there. I have got some Sazerac right there and some Negroni right there, maybe you do to or a little beer belly. OK we have got some big ice cubes in there.
See that it is just like a Mojito you just get your bar spoon and get the flavours in there, I’m going to do a little bit of extra muddling, stir it up. Then a couple more ice cubes in there, there we go. We do not want little ice, we do not want a lot of dilution, that is why I am careful to get some big cubes here because I just want the flavours to really come out and I wanted it to get cold. So do a little bit more stirring, OK a little bit more stirring and then look for maybe a couple of the little cubes. There we go alright.
I chipped this ice before we started, now I am looking for some small pieces, a couple of big chunks. There we go that is perfect, now let’s top it off with seltzer. Oh, this is smelling really good, if you guys like spicy food then this is a nice spicy alternative to the Mojito. There we go you put in your straw and then a nice orange round, and then we are going to put in just a little bit of Gary Reagan’s orange bitters, just put it on the top. There we go for a little accent; it adds a little smell for you. There we go cheers, Octavio Pause. Thank you Octavio you are a great, great writer, cheers.

Octavio Pause;
1. Add 1.5 oz. of tequila.
2. 1 oz. fresh lime juice.
3. 1 ½ oz. Citrus sugar.
4. Splash of Aperol.
5. Add a ½ oz. of Cointreau.
6. Handful of cilantro leaves.
7. 2 orange wheels.
8. Then muddle, muddle, muddle.
9. Add ice and stir.
10. Add Straw and top with seltzer.
11. Garnish with an orange wheel and cilantro sprig.
12. Top with a dash of Gary Reagan’s orange bitters, delicious.