Opening Porfirio’s cocktail menu is a bit like opening a map. There are no fanciful names: there are states. The section is called Mexología, and each cocktail takes something recognizable from a region and turns it into a drink. Picking the one for your favorite state is fair game; picking it knowing what’s in the glass is even better.
The North: Character and Fruit
Sonora: Mezcal Unión® 45 ml, Campari® 15 ml, orange marmalade, passion fruit pulp, a basil crown and dehydrated orange. Smoky, with a measured bitterness and tropical acidity. It opens the appetite and pairs well with steaks.
Chihuahua: Tequila Don Julio® Blanco 45 ml, lime, cranberry, apple, a mint crown and dehydrated apple. Chihuahua is the country’s top apple producer, and here the apple is the star. It’s one of the lightest on the menu.
The West: Tequila and Orchard
Jalisco: Tequila Don Julio® Blanco 45 ml, Chinchón Dulce® 10 ml, strawberry concentrate, cucumber, lime, dehydrated grapefruit and Selz® powder. The fizzy finish recalls childhood candy. It’s the cocktail for a toast, especially when the mariachi walks in.
Michoacán: Tequila Don Julio® Blanco 45 ml, pineapple, lime, mango vinegar, banana leaf and dehydrated pineapple. Tropical fruit and fruit vinegar, two hallmarks of Michoacán cooking. Its acidity cleanses the palate after intense dishes.
The Center and South: Cooking in a Glass
Puebla: Buchanan’s® Pineapple Whisky 45 ml, Flamingo® banana liqueur 15 ml, pineapple, lemon, simple syrup and colorful wafers. The wafers are a nod to Puebla’s sweets. It’s ideal for lingering at the table after the meal.
Oaxaca: Mezcal Unión® Joven 45 ml, lime, ginger beer, mole, hoja santa and chapulines. It’s the boldest and the most faithful to its state. It naturally accompanies the Filete in Mole Negro or the Caña de Filete.
Chiapas: Ketel One® Vodka 45 ml, brewed coffee, piloncillo syrup, spices, Angostura bitters and dehydrated orange. It’s built around the coffee of one of the great coffee-growing states. It works at the end of the meal, alongside the Ancestral Chocolate Bread.
Yucatán: Tanqueray Ten® Gin 45 ml, Kalani® coconut liqueur 30 ml, cucumber, lime, a mint crown and cucumber. It’s the most refreshing, almost a response to the climate of the peninsula. It goes very well with seafood.
How to Choose If You Don’t Know Where to Start
- Fresh and light: Yucatán, Chihuahua.
- Fruity and made for toasting: Jalisco, Michoacán.
- With character: Sonora, Oaxaca.
- For lingering after the meal: Chiapas, Puebla.
With a group, it works for everyone to pick a different state and taste them all around the table.
Naming cocktails after states could have stayed a decorative gimmick. It works because the ingredients back up the name: the apples of Chihuahua, the coffee of Chiapas, the mole of Oaxaca. That way, between one dish and the next, the table travels across half the country without leaving the chair.
