It’s a Tuesday night in the middle of May. It should be warm outside because this is SoCal, but it’s chillier than we expected. Even with the electric breeze against our skins, we leave our jackets in the car because we’re heading to Gracias Madre’s cozy outdoor patio to sip on their new wave of handcrafted tequila and mezcal cocktails, which means things are going to warm up from the inside out.
The drinks on their new menu are vibrant, fresh, creative, and entirely made from agave-based liquors, and, being that tequila lights up our eyes like stars on a clear night, it seems we’ve come to the right place. After a quick introduction to bartender Maxwell Reis, the mastermind behind Madre’s new menu, we place an order for two mildly-sweet drinks. A few sips in and our hearts are beating, our blood is circulating, and the cold has seemingly disappeared. Yep, this is definitely tequila.
We came to take pretty pictures and post to our story, but with every sip we take, the task grows a little more daunting. Coffee + work = good mix. Alcohol + working = spelling errors (our apologies Gracias Madre).
Placing all that logic to the side, we attempt to grab Max’s attention for a second round. After all, we didn’t come all this way to try just one drink! It takes a minute to catch his eye—we can’t blame the people talking to him though, as his genuine friendliness is downright irresistible—but he eventually comes back around to take our order. This time it’s sweet drinks we’re after; we can’t recall the names, but we do know watermelon and mango definitely played a part. The first sip immediately provokes an audible “wow” and “this is gooood.” However, halfway into our second beverage, we realized it was getting harder to keep our balance while taking photos. It’s a shame to leave such masterpieces laying around, half-loved, but we can’t post up in the kitchen for the night, so self control is a must. A proper exchange of goodbyes to our hosts and we’re out the door to finish our barrage of social media posts before it gets too late.
Moral of the story: go experience Gracias Madre’s new cocktail menu, chat with their residential beverage director Maxwell Reis (if you can catch him), share some drinks with a friend, and do it all on a night you don’t have to work at the same time. From floral to fruity to downright extravagant, we promise you’ll leave the building in hazy-eyed euphoria.
