Beverage Director Maxwell Reis Talks About The Evolution of The Cocktail Program at Gracias Madre
As we slowly emerge from the pandemic, we’ll continue to see how the landscapes of bars and restaurants have changed permanently because of it. Perhaps the cities will continue to relax zoning regulations, allowing for more al fresco dining, and imbibing, that we’ve seen during the pandemic. And then there are, of course, to-go cocktails—will they stay?
There will also be noticeable surprises on a smaller scale, that we’ll see when we begin to venture out to destination establishments that the pandemic may have inhibited us from visiting. We’ll see how individual restaurants changed, adapted, and which of their pivots became permanent. Essentially all restaurants with a liquor license offered to-go cocktails in some variety of vessel, whether that meant Styrofoam cups, glass bottles with custom made labels . . . or some establishments took to canning their beverages, as was the case at both Gracias Madre’s locations, in West Hollywood and Newport Beach. In addition to the Southern Californian plant-based restaurants canning their libations, the West Hollywood location has recently seen the addition of a new Japanese El Tesoro Highball Machine and has added highball cocktails to its agave spirits program.
As stated on Gracias Madre’s cocktail list: “In Japan, the highball is viewed as a technique of lengthening a spirit through carbonated water and paired aromatics. Our Suntory soda water is softened to emulate the water in Japan, has the highest possible carbonation, and is the first of its kind to be customized for the use of agave spirits.”
We reached out to beverage director Maxwell Reis, to learn more about this new addition to the cocktail program, and hear how Gracias Madre persevered through the pandemic.
The Tasting Panel: Has there been an evolution of to-go cocktails at Gracias Madre in the past year? How soon did you start canning cocktails? Is that done in-house?
Maxwell Reis: I was heavily interested in to-go cocktail formats even prior to the pandemic, so when we initially closed I focused on honing that aspect of my craft. When we reopened, we reopened strong with stable, zero-waste to-go cocktails, that we produce and can in-house. It’s been amazing to see it grow and become such a staple of our business.
TP: Had you been hoping to acquire the highball machine prior to the pandemic? Or were to-go cocktails the major impetus for purchasing it?
MR: I’ve had my eye on the highball machine for as long as I can remember. Using technology to create new waves of possibilities is a major aspect of my beverage program—and this was the next frontier. Exposing our clientele to higher-end agave spirits in an equally pretentious yet unpretentious format seemed like a no brainer . . . and it feels incredible to see everything pan out.
TP: So . . . what makes the highball machine so special?
MR: It creates insanely soft high-carbonated water with bubble size optimized to interact with opening up the spirits we pair with it. It’s the Bugatti of bubbles.
TP: What drinks has it worked best for?
MR: Our staple is the El Tesoro Blanco highball paired with lime oil. [It’s] simple yet effective. The limits are endless, and every month we will be pairing six spirits with six aromatics to showcase the machine and our back bar to our guests.
TP: I’m assuming you use mostly nonperishable ingredients, or ingredients with a long shelf life, for the drinks?
MR: Yes—we stabilize the cocktails using techniques like clarification in conjunction with cordials and stabilization with alcohol, salts, and natural acids.
TP: How do you think bars and restaurants in L.A. will change most after the pandemic?
MR: Ideally we can take these lessons and innovation we’ve learn throughout this experience and use it to improve things moving forward. I love the ability to sell and showcase our program to go as well as in house, and I’m hoping dearly that is something that sticks around. Letting the experience begin in these walls and end at home is something I would dearly miss.
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