In the fourth installment of our summer cocktails series, Chef de Bar and mixologist Gates Otsuji shares the story behind our new favorite at The Top of The Standard: Penelope Cruz.
"There’s nothing quite like a margarita in the summertime, but margaritas are tough. The core structure of the classic recipe is wide open for personalization, and many, many variations of the drink exist: spicy margaritas, mezcal margaritas, strawberry margaritas, etc. Everyone has their own special twist that makes their margarita the best. Agave spirits have been rising in popularity over the past couple years, and this summer, I thought it might be interesting to put a margarita on the cocktail menu. But not just any margarita–the Superlative Margarita!"
"What if Penelope Cruz came to the bar and didn’t like having a drink named after her?"
"After a bit of tinkering in the kitchen, a set of international flavors came together like magic: toasted sesame (Asia), bergamot (Africa, Southern Europe, the Middle East), pink grapefruit (USA), and reposado tequila (Mexico). And the result was better than anyone imagined: so perfectly balanced between sweet and sour, with such a pleasing richness of flavor and texture, that it appeals to everybody. But it needed a name to reflect this appeal, something international, something sexy and classy…Penelope Cruz, of course!"
We hesitated for a moment, though. What if Penelope Cruz came to the bar and didn’t like having a drink named after her? And then we laughed, realizing that there are very few other bars that would worry about something like that happening."
Top of The Standard
Open every day of the summer at 4pm for sunset service
