Living La Vida

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Cocktail History

The Living La Vida is a modern cocktail that was created in 2019 by Mimi Burnham at Bar Celona in New York City, New York. The recipe starts with an agave base of both mezcal and tequila, mixes in herbal Amaro Montenegro as well as lemon juice and saffron syrup for sweetness, and tops it all off with bitter tonic water.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Mezcal: This is a spirit made in Mexico with fermented agave and yeast, which are distilled after roasting agave hearts in underground pits to develop a smoky, complex flavor.

Amaro Montenegro: This is a liqueur made in Italy with a blend of herbs, spices, citrus peels, and botanicals, distilled alcohol, water, and sugar, which are blended and infused to develop a bittersweet, aromatic flavor.

Lemon Juice: This is the liquid extracted from the flesh of ripe lemons that has a sweet, tangy flavor and light yellow color.

Saffron Syrup: This is a sweetener made with saffron threads, gum arabic powder, and white sugar, which are heated and infused into a syrup with a delicate, honeyed flavor.

Tequila Blanco: This is a type of tequila made in Mexico with fermented blue agave and yeast, which are distilled and then left unaged to develop a bright, agave-forward flavor.

Tonic Water: This is a carbonated beverage made with water quinine, and added minerals, which are infused with carbon dioxide gas to develop a fizzy, bitter flavor.

Lemon Slice: This is a slice of lemon that has been cut into a half wheel shape.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Bright yellow hue with an ombré effect

• Aroma: Lemon and mezcal

• Taste: Refreshingly bitter quinine flavor mixed with mezcal’s earthiness, amaro’s herbal notes, and a touch of florals

• Finish: Lingering bitterness from the tonic and amaro

Kendall’s Take: “I’m not one for bitter drinks as is yet, and I did not expect this one to be quite as bitter as it was when I first sipped it. Mezcal is already a tough swallow for me, and I found it to be very prominent in this recipe even with the tonic water. Usually, it’s sweetened with the other ingredients in the drink, but the Living La Vida only kept getting more and more bitter. This admittedly wasn’t my favorite, but if you like bitter beverages, it might do the trick for you.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was found in the book Mezcal + Tequila Cocktails: Mixed Drinks for the Golden Age of Agave by Robert Simonson.