Celia - Original Cocktail
Cracked Coupe Cocktail Guide Ed. 9
Celia
My dad and I set out to create three new cocktails one night using entirely new spirits. It was a challenge. In the end, we emerged miles away from sobriety, but we succeeded. This cocktail was featured in my Latin Spirits cocktail omakase.
This cocktail is named for my great aunt Celia; she’s got real spunk for her age and has for many years. The chile kick in this drink reminds me of her. It came together in an effort to highlight Xila, a Mexican aperitif derived from agave with notes of hibiscus, clove, pineapple, and ancho chile.
We initially wanted to highlight the pox, a Mexican corn and sugar cane spirit, but the Siglo Cero bottle is much less bold than another bottle I had from Bonampak. We toyed with the two ingredients in a few ratios before adding a bar spoon of chocolate syrup. Eureka!
Served in a: Rocks glass.
Garnish: Lemon twist
How to make: STIR all ingredients with ice and strain into a rocks glass over small cubes.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 fl oz Xila Aperitif
1 fl oz Siglo Cero Pox
1 bar spoon or 1/6 fl oz Trader Joe’s Midnight Moo Chocolate
Review: This drink has a lot going on. The Xila is the big flavor here, backed up by the mellow pox. Chocolate and chile go very well together in my opinion, so that combination here is wonderful. The lemon twist adds just a touch of brightness and zing that fits nicely against the spices in Xila. It’s a relatively simple elevation of Xila, but a worthwhile one nonetheless.
History: Created by myself and my dad in New Jersey, in March 2025.