The spice of roasted piñon nuts and the sweet, vanilla sap of ponderosa pines are aromas that are emblematic of the Southwest’s high alpine desert. It was these aromas that inspired Santa Fe Spirits’ head distiller, John Jeffery, to create the Atapiño Liqueur – a whiskey-based, piñon nut liqueur sweetened with ponderosa pine resin and raw sugar.
When a liqueur has a unique flavor profile, the question arises of how best to use it. Santa Fe Spirits’ bar manager, Greg Butera, recommends spicing up classic cocktails.
Lucas Hess, assistant general manager of El Moro Spirits and Tavern, focuses on the spice and hint of alpine flora as he mixes a variation of a Manhattan with Santa Fe Spirits’ Colkegan single-malt whiskey and El Moro’s infused clove and vanilla sweet vermouth. Colkegan is distilled in a Scottish fashion, and the resulting mesquite smokiness complements the spicy, roasted notes of the Atapiño. The clove and vanilla in the vermouth and the cinnamon flavors of house bitters wed with the vanilla flavor of the ponderosa resin.
Eolus Bar Manager Eric Rogan features a similar drink, the Santa Fe Sunburn, on the restaurant and bar’s cocktail menu. In it, the Atapiño is mixed with the whiskey and apple brandy and poured over a hand-cut cube of smoked ice. The mesquite smoke and roasted piñon strike a balance with the oak flavor, which is subtly carried by the sweetness of the apple and vanilla.
Atapiño can also be brightened with citrus for a warm spring day. Hess combines the Atapiño with a spin on a Hemingway daiquiri (a style preferred by Ernest Hemingway, with no sugar or simple syrup and twice the liquor), using Colorado ingredients such as Montanya’s Exclusiva Rum and Elevation 5003’s Falernum liqueur. Grapefruit, clove, orange and lime mingle in a Tiki delight.
The Bookcase and Barber features the spirit in its “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken” cocktail. Bar manager Daniel Yohey mixes a bright, creamy cocktail that utilizes pineapple rum and Bacanora, an agave-derived liquor. The Atapiño is also mixed with Mezcal in the bar’s “Ixchel, the Lady Rainbow” cocktail.
Atapiño ManhattanIngredients:1.5 ounces single malt whiskey0.75 ounces vermouth0.5 ounces Atapiño liqueur3 dashes bittersMethod:Add all ingredients into a mixing glass and stir. Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with an orange twist and a brandy-soaked cherry.
Source: El Moro Spirits and Tavern Assistant General Manager Lucas Hess
Atapiño DaiquiriIngredients:1.5 ounces rum0.5 ounces falernum liquer0.5 ounces Atapiño liquer0.5 ounces grapefruit juice0.5 ounces lime juice1 dash Jamaican bittersMethod:Shake all ingredients together in cocktail shaker. Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with an orange slice.
Source: El Moro Spirits and Tavern Assistant General Manager Lucas Hess
