Medicina Latina Cocktail. Sweet Medicine!
► by Bartender Maria Duran of Barefoot
Maria Duran
Bartender
Barefoot
“Let me show you the garnish!” Maria Duran says, dashing to find a piece of candied ginger to adorn her special Medicina Latina cocktail. The fresh drink isn’t really medicine, rather a tongue-in-cheek wordplay created by the effervescent Duran, a Colombian native who has lived in Aruba for over twenty years.
— Photography Kenneth Theysen
Duran has been at Barefoot for more than half of her time in Aruba. She’s always been on the bar side of hospitality. “I’m a bartender, I’ve been making cocktails for half my life.”
Duran loves Aruba (“It’s always sunny!” she exclaims) and the atmosphere of the beach and the sunset at Barefoot suit her perfectly. “The first seating of guests starts around 5 p.m., when people settle in with a cocktail to watch the sunset, before their meal,” she says. “Every week we’re doing a different feature, and the waiters are excited to share it with our guests.” The cocktail list features Caribbean classics like mojitos and a range of refreshing fruit martinis, but this special cocktail is one that gives her a chuckle.
Medicina Latina gets its inspiration from folk remedies. “We always drink lime, ginger and honey when we have a cold,” Duran says. “I thought I would mix some tequila with it to make a refreshing drink, and it’s turned out to be a big hit.” Barefoot in the sand with the sun about to set, we can’t imagine a nicer way to end a day.
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Medicina Latina
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients
2 oz. white tequila
2 oz. honey / lime juice / ginger juice mix (see bartender's tips below)
Combine the white tequila and the honey, lime, and ginger juice mix in a cocktail shaker.
Shake and strain over ice into a rock glass.
Garnish with a slice of candied ginger.
BARTENDER'S TIPS
Duran uses Don Valente white tequila for this cocktail.
White tequila is a non-aged tequila, unlike reposado, which is aged two to twelve months in an oak barrel, or an añejo. The freshness of the white tequila enhances the bright aromatics here, but if you can’t find white tequila, you can always substitute. The color of the cocktail will no longer be pale yellow, but darker, based on the type of tequila used.
Duran suggests preparing the ginger juice, lime juice, and honey aromatics in advance. Mix equal parts of ginger juice, lime juice, and honey in a shakable jar or bottle. This ensures that the honey isn’t gummy when it’s mixed with the tequila, and it’s easier to measure the two ounces of this peppy mix for the cocktail. Any excess can be refrigerated for 24-48 hours.
