Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/14611
COVER SToRY “if you give TRES LECHES to a talented mixologist, he can do wonders with it. There are not many cream- based products i would put my name behind. This is a spirit of the future.” —Javier Sosa, Jr. /Javier’s Cantina & Grill, newport Beach The Laguna Beach Special is a signature cocktail at Javier’s Cantina & Grill. It combines Tres Leches with Patrón XO Café liqueur, a splash of Frangelico and is topped with cinnamon. “It tastes just like the tres leches cake” “There’s just so much you can do with Tres Leches liqueur,” says Samir Dhurandhar, corporate chef and partner of Dallas-based Nick & Sam’s Steakhouse, Nick & Sam’s Grill and Coal Vine’s Pizza. “I look at new products all the time. When I was introduced to Tres Leches, it was poured over crushed ice and was perfect for a hot sunny day. It gives you that sweetness you’re looking for, but is so mellow, so smooth on your palate that it drinks really well. It tastes just like the tres leches cake.” And it makes a great Coke float, says Jay Long, Manager of the Goody Goody Liquor retailer, the largest retailer in Texas. “We have one of the largest stores in the country; 15 new 52 / the tasting panel / august 2010 products come across our desk every day. There’s usually not a lot we get excited about,” Long says. “But with Tres Leches, we have. It’s something different. There are so many creamy liqueurs . . . this just has a different taste than the rest.” Sweetness Tres Leches’s sweetness gives it great flexibility, especially for dessert enthu- siasts. Some restaurants serve it as a shot next to a featured dessert. Mojito's Tapas in Louisville, KY, presents a shot alongside a goat cheese flan with cajeta ice cream and almond brittle. Dhurandhar currently blends Tres Leches in ice cream, a banana caramel bread pudding and gelato and plans to make a Tres Leches chocolate truffle. His restaurants also serve it as an after- dinner drink and in coffee, but he says the liqueur doesn’t need much help for people to fall in love with it. “To me, Tres Leches was created for how popular the dessert is. It’s so easy to have this in a shot, in an after dinner drink or in a dessert,” he says. “It’s a comfort food. Tres Leches has become such a universal flavor that I think people will recognize this more than they would a Grand Marnier or a glass of cognac.” Cocktails Tres Leches liqueur’s unique, sweet flavor profile lends itself as an easy replacement to other cream liqueurs. But that same flavor inspires creativity. New York City’s renowned Summit Bar and Miami-based Texas de Brazil are playing with Tres Leches behind the bar, while mixologist Pablo Moix, of La Descarga in Hollywood, CA, recently added to his menu the Bad Spaniard: one ounce of Cruzan Blackstrap rum, one ounce of Averna Amaro, one ounce PHOTO: STACEY TAXIN