Tequila Beyond Sunrise
Travel Distilled reviews Tequila Beyond Sunrise by Jesse Estes, a collection of tequila and mezcal cocktail recipes.
Living not far from the Mexico border in southern Arizona, our drinks cabinet is never without a bottle or two of tequila in it. I make a pretty good Margarita, and a Tequila Sunrise hits the spot when you want something long and refreshing.
However, because I’m a creature of habit I never venture much beyond those two standards. I definitely needed this book, to encourage me to discover new ways of enjoying tequila, and mezcal too.
The Design
The first thing to say is what a lovely little book it is. The lively design reflects the colourful nature of Mexico, and like a good cocktail it’s full of visual appeal. It makes you want to read it, and create some of these concoctions.
Tequila Beyond Sunrise: The Author
The author of the book is a well-known name when it comes to tequila and mezcal: Jesse Estes. Jesse’s the son of Tomas Estes, who’s the official European Tequila Ambassador for the Mexican government. Following very much in his father’s footsteps, Jesse is the Global Brand Ambassador for Tequila Ocho, is an award-winning bartender, teaches masterclasses on tequila and other agave spirits around the world and has been featured in magazines like Esquire and Imbibe.
Not all the cocktail recipes are from the author, who rounded up his friends and contacts in the worldwide bartending community to provide him with their own best recipes for tequila and mezcal.
The Recipes
And what recipes they are. The author’s divided them into various sections, including eight Margarita recipes, a section called Long and Refreshing, and another called Brown, Bitter and Stirred.
Of the Margarita options, I’ll definitely be trying the Pomegranate Margarita. Pomegranate juice adds such a great taste to things, and I love the suggestion of garnishing this red drink with edible rose petals. It’s such a simple thing but gives it a classy look when you’re making cocktails at home.
Likewise, the Mezcarita is basically a Margarita but made with mezcal instead of tequila, and suggests a dehydrated banana crisp to garnish.
Tequila Beyond Sunrise
The cocktail that gives the book its title, the Tequila Beyond Sunrise, is probably one I’ll have to work up to attempting. Well, it is the last recipe in the book and is in the section called ‘For the Adventurous’. What do you think?
In all there are over 40 recipes for tequila and mezcal cocktails in this book. It’s only 64 pages but it’s a lovely chunky hardback that’s inexpensive and is sure to inspire you to get more creative with these tasty agave spirits.
Recent Posts
