El Gallito
Reprinted with permission from The One-Bottle Cocktail: More than 80 Recipes with Fresh Ingredients and a Single Spirit by Maggie Hoffman, copyright © 2018. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Have you ever met a drink that also provides its own perfect snack accompaniment? This rare treasure, an umami-rich sweet-salty-smoky chipotle number from Matthew McKinley Campbell of Comal in Berkeley and A Mano in San Francisco, balances juicy pineapple with grassy green cilantro. It straddles the line between sweet and savory: a handful of cherry tomatoes tamps down the fruity flavor without pushing the drink into full-on Bloody Mary territory. The mixer is easy to prep in advance for a group, and the solids that you strain off the blended mixture become a fresh, spicy salsa that’s excellent with chips. Vodka lets the drink’s vivid flavors shine, but the mix is also good with reposado tequila.
Ingredients
El Gallito mix
- 25 fresh cilantro stems with leaves
- 2 green onions, top third of greens removed
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- 237 ml* (1 cup) diced fresh pineapple
- 237 ml (8 ounces) lime juice
- 148 ml (5 ounces) water
- 118 ml (4 ounces) undiluted agave nectar
- 30 ml (1 ounce) adobo sauce from canned chipotles
- Pinch salt
- About 710 ml (24 ounces) vodka
Garnish
- 12 cocktail picks, each with 1 cherry tomato half
* Metric conversions by The Cook’s Cook
Preparation
Slice cilantro and green onions into 7.6 cm (3-inch) segments, then add to a blender along with tomatoes, pineapple, lime juice, water, agave nectar, adobo sauce, and salt. Process until smooth. Strain through a chinois or fine-mesh strainer into a large measuring cup. Set aside solids to serve as a salsa, refrigerating if not serving immediately.
Measure the liquid mix (it should yield about 710 ml/24 ounces) and pour into a 1.8 liter (2-quart) pitcher or resealable container along with an equal amount of vodka. If not serving right away, refrigerate for up to 3 hours.
When ready to serve, stir mixture well, then add 355 ml (1 ½ cups) ice to pitcher and give it another gentle stir. Pour into ice-filled rocks glasses and garnish each one with a speared cherry tomato half.
