According to dining biz periodical FSR magazine, one of the big trends for 2020 is simpler cocktails with fewer – but better – ingredients. Our own Aaron DeFeo, mixologist and co-owner of Little Rituals in Downtown Phoenix, contributed to the article, saying “the best cocktails will always be stripped down to their most essential parts.” Vecina bar chief Miguel Mora captures the same less-is-more philosophy with this three-ingredient spring cocktail that looks feminine but packs a manly wallop. Made with dried-chile-infused gin, fresh lemon juice and simple syrup, it’s basically a spicy riff on the classic gin Collins as well as a refreshing accompaniment to Vecina’s many Mexican-inspired dishes.
Even an amateur can pull this one off. Add 2 oz. chile-infused Malfy Blood Orange Gin*, 1 oz. fresh lemon juice and ½ oz. simple syrup to a cocktail shaker, add ice, shake and double-strain into a rocks glass over new ice. Garnish with fresh mint and a dehydrated lemon wheel.
* Add three different dried chiles – one guajillo, one pasilla and two chiles de árbol – to a tea infuser filled with gin and let the mixture infuse for three hours.
$14
Vecina
3433 N. 56th St., Phoenix
602-675-2000, vecinaphx.com
