Los Angeles – The restaurant will only stock and serve agave-based spirits made using traditional production methods.
By rejecting industrialised and chemical processes, such as the diffuser process, Gracias Madre hopes to start a conversation about practices in the industry. To this end, its extensive menu of mezcals, bacanoras, raicillas and tequilas are also considered sustainable and traceable.
Signature cocktails include the Rocket Man, made with arugula, gention, fino sherry, lime, mezcal and aquavit, and the Tepache Junglebird, made with tepache, roasted pineapple, Campari, blackstrap molasses and reposado tequila.
‘[We] will no longer serve any products subject to the industrialised and chemical process known as diffuser production or support the distilleries that house these practices,’ says Maxwell Reis, beverage director at Gracias Madre. Bars such as The Hide in London are also reconsidering where its ingredients come from, sourcing locally and using this to start a dialogue with and educate customers.