Cocktail stories: Mayan’s Punch, Barro Negro
Agave-focused Athens venue Barra Negro offers a twist on the Porn Star Martini with Mayan’s Punch.
“We have all the latest technology, and we are super efficient, but we don’t want to showcase that to people,”
At Athens’ Barro Negro, Greece’s ‘first’ dedicated agave spirits bar, owner Stelios Papadopoulos has built his menu around Tequila and mezcal. “We have all the latest technology, and we are super efficient, but we don’t want to showcase that to people,” he explains. “We want to focus on the agave spirit.”
While his dream is to “deliver the best possible Margarita in the town, in the country, and hopefully one day globally”, his menu goes beyond the classics. The Mayan’s Punch is a clarified cocktail inspired by both traditional Mexican tepache and the European love for Porn Star Martinis. “Greeks were obsessed with Porn Star Martinis; it was a phenomenon,” Papadopoulos laughs. “Everybody was asking for passion fruit, whatever with passion fruit – so we just twisted it a bit.”
Tepache is a fermented pineapple drink with pre-Columbian roots, which the Barro Negro team creates in-house. The whole cocktail is then clarified for a sophisticated appearance. The passion fruit element bridges the two inspirations, nodding to the Porn Star Martini while staying true to Mexico.
For Papadopoulos, every cocktail decision comes back to agave. “Every time we create cocktails, one element will always be to enhance the base spirit,” he explains. “Even with a Paloma or Margarita, we try to make sure that the hero is always the spirit.”
But the menu also has to work as a whole, offering something to every guest who walks in the door, agave enthusiast or not. “We have to make sure all flavours and palates are covered – which is the difficulty with only agave spirits-based drinks,” he adds.
“We want bitter, sweet and sour – we need to make sure that we cover all possible demand. The good thing with agave is that it’s so versatile as a category – it can actually help you and become a tool for mixability.”
Mayan’s Punch
Ingredients
30ml Reposado Tequila
25ml Passion fruit cordial
5ml Coffee distillate
30ml Tepache
5ml Fresh lime
25ml Milk
Method
Pour all the ingredients into a container with the milk. Leave for at least an hour then strain through a cheesecloth. Pour over a clear ice cube and garnish with an edible flower.
