This cocktail from Quattro Teste takes it's inspirational trip from Cuba through Tijuana and on to Lisbon. Originally, the Jai-Alai cocktail was an elegant mix of gin, vermouth and soda water but through a Mexican variation of the same name, the modern Basque version now includes cacao, rum and a homemade acid solution.

Let's dive into how the professionals make it. This is the Jai-Alai.

Jai-Alai

Ingredients

  • 5 ml Bitter Fusetti Cacao
  • 12.5 ml Sugar Syrup
  • 15 ml Acid Solution
  • 30 ml Havana 3
  • 30 ml Martini Ambrato
  • 40 ml Soda Water

Garnish

  • Menthe Pastille Spray
Glass
Double Old Fashioned
Method
Build & Stir
Ice
Block

In keeping things simple, the prep for this serve by Alf and Marta at Quattro Teste in Lisbon begins with a simple 1:1 sugar syrup. Just combine the ingredients and mix until the sugar dissolves.

Sugar Syrup

Prep ingredients

  • 1000 g Water
  • 1000 g Sugar (Caster)

Yield

1600 ml

Then comes the nerdy part of the drink with a home-made acid solution that allows the drink to be elegantly stirred instead of shaken with citrus. It's a perfect blend of all the food acids combining citric, malic, tartaric, lactic, ascorbic and succinic acids with a touch of salt. Like the simple syrup above, this is a simple case of dissolving it all in water.

Acid Solution

Prep ingredients

  • 705 g Water
  • 1 g Ascorbic Acid
  • 27 g Citric Acid
  • 13 g Malic Acid
  • 2 g Tartaric Acid
  • 0.2 g Succinic Acid
  • 1 g Lactic Acid
  • 1 g Salt

Yield

700 ml

Instructions

Weigh everything very carefully using a micro scale and then dissolve all acids and salt in the water. When handling raw food acids, ensure proper procedure and recommended measurements are followed.

With all the house ingredients being so elegantly prepared, it's time to make the drink itself. This is a classic stirred drink prepared like any Negroni or Old Fashioned.

Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin, give them a good stir and strain them into your favourite rocks glass on a block of ice. The garnish is a clean spray of menthe pastille liqueur and it's ready to enjoy.

If you want to learn more about the inspiration behind this drink, Alf has written more about the history of the Jai-Alai cocktail through time and how he got inspired here

And if you're looking for more inspiration, Quattro Teste share more of their work right here on Peche.

Cheers! 🍸