A good buddy of mine has opened a bar in an area of Los Angeles called Boyle Heights.  The Whitt (on Whittier Blvd) definitely has a Mexican theme with most of the surrounding community having Mexican ancestry.  I wanted to come up with a few signature drinks for him that would be fast,  easy to make, and taste of Mexico.  Our house is always stocked with Mexican coke for Cube Libres so the inspiration came quickly to create grogs based on other Mexican sodas.

Easy to find at local stores

Below are two that tasters seem to enjoy the most.  Both drinks were served in Libby#115 13.5oz glasses tumblers.  The idea being that the soda is still the highlighted flavor.  Smaller oz glasses would, of course, bring out the other flavors more.  The serving ice cubes were 1 1/4 inch squares.

Mielzana Cooler

• Prep an apple wheel and notch cut for the rim of a glass
• Add ice cubes to the serving glass
• Pour in 2oz of Ron Miel,  1/4 oz fresh lemon juice and fill the rest of the glass with Sidral Mundet
• Garnish with an apple wheel and straw

Ron Miel isn’t a rum you can find everywhere.  I found it at Mission Liquor in Sherman Oaks and its worth having on your bar shelf.  You could try using honey and light rum but I would add all the liquids (not soda) and honey first, stir, and then add ice and soda.  Honey hardens when it gets cold.

Tamarind Cooler

• Prep a lemon wheel and notch cut for the rim of the glass along with 1 long sprig of cilantro
• Add ice cubes to the serving glass
• In a separate tumbler/glass, add 2oz of Beefeater gin, 1/4oz of fresh lemon juice, and a 2-4 sprigs of cilantro. Stir together and then finely strain into the serving glass
• Fill the rest of the serving glass with Jarritos Tamarind soda
• Garnish with a lemon wheel, cilantro sprig and straw

Sounds a bit unusual to mix a drink with cilantro but tasters were pleasantly surprised.  To add some kick to this, add 2-4 slices of Serrano peppers along with the cilantro, lemon juice and gin before stirring.  Make sure the strain is fine to avoid seeds in the serving glass.