Cafe Rouge has achieved noble status in the northern California East Bay city of Berkeley. Primarily a French/Californian restaurant known for its’ house aged meats, Cafe Rouge has also built its’ reputation with a great bar and a top notch happy hour.  $1 steak frites and $1 oyster shooters mixed with creative cocktails is a recipe for popularity almost anywhere. But in the organic and local food haven of Berkeley, California, this combination (along with hands on classes in goat carcass butchery, among others) has elevated Cafe Rouge to the level of local institution.

 

The Mamacita Cocktail, shown below, used to be one of five signature cocktails on the Cafe Rouge bar menu. Like many bars today, their house cocktail list changes quite often.

 

Basically riffing on a Margarita, the Mamacita starts off with two ounces of Cabrito Blanco Tequila and then uses orange juice and strawberry puree as the main flavor agents finally mixing the whole thing with the point/counter point of lime juice and agave nectar. What makes this drink more evolved is the slight addition of Aperol, the low alcohol, slightly bitter Italian aperitif. Together this is more complex than just a simple  summer cooler or Margarita variation.

 

I find this to be a clever and mature drink which I find unusual for collins/cooler with tequila variation.  The Mamacita offers stacatto notes of sweet, bitter and sour in an harmonious whole.

 

Mamacita Cocktail by Cafe Rouge

Recipe:

1/2 ounce Aperol

2 ounces Cabrito Blanco Tequila

3/4 ounce orange Juice

1 ounce strawberry puree

1 1/2 ounces lime juice

1/2 ounce agave nectar

Wedge of lime

Method:

Add all ingredients, but the lime wedge, to an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake vigorously to combine. Strain into an ice-filled collins glass and garnish with the wedge of lime and a straw. Add oysters and steak frites and enjoy. Cheers!

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Related posts:

1. Cocktail Recipe – Mojito
2. The Globe Cocktail
3. Cocktail Recipe – The Americano and The Americano Grapefruit Cooler

Tags: Aperol, Berkeley, Cafe Rouge, Cocktail Photo, Cocktail Recipe, Lime Juice, Margarita Recipe, Strawberry Cocktail, Tequila