The jacarandas are in bloom, the sun is back in business and Buenos Aires never looked so pretty. That means summer’s just around the corner, and to ensure the season isn’t marred by paper umbrellas ruining your cocktail’s aesthetic, I’ve taken the trouble to taste-test SS14/15’s hottest yet coolest brand-new cocktail lists just for you.
Argentina is a land of innumerable pleasures. That’s why you will find many who say, “Oh, I came here for a month to learn Spanish… That was 6 years ago.” People stay because, every time they think they’re done, something new turns up that just keeps them hanging on. It could be the meat, the people, the culture, or for many, including me, it could be the wine. Oh, the wine!! Purists may argue that, be it Malbec, Torrontés or Bonarda, wine is never to be touched, tampered with or tarred by any force other than age and temperature, but I beg to differ.
In a country where Malbec is king, cocktails sometimes take a back seat to wine in Argentina’s party capital. Despite the rich history of classic porteño cantinas, only in the past decade have bars in Buenos Aires begun to pay homage to the art of creating the perfect mixed drink. In recent years the bar scene has undergone a major transformation with inventive cocktails replacing pedestrian drinks, the emergence of fully stocked bars catering to the seasoned spirit drinker, and skilled bartenders emerging as celebrated mixologists.
For some incomprehensible reason, young Argentines don’t find it particularly attractive to get blindingly drunk and fall flat off a bar stool. Argentines are a cosmopolitan bunch — sipping beer in streetside cafes, savouring wine by the glass in upscale bars, or nursing a coke in a nightclub looking sexy until sunrise…