When Roberto Delgado Reyes was a boy in Mexico City, he would play bartender at his parents’ parties.
“One day, I'll be behind the bar,” Reyes told himself. “I thought it was so cool to be behind the bar making cocktails. ... I just want to create some different experiences for the people.”
Today, Reyes is an award-winning mixologist found most frequently behind the bar at El Moro Spirits & Tavern, clad in a signature leather apron of his own design, made by his business partner in Mexico.
Reyes was named bartender of the year in 2022 by the Colorado Restaurant Association, and has taken the first-place award for best bartender in the Best of Durango and La Plata County the last two years.
And now, Reyes is in the quarterfinal round of the Bar Boss competition, along with about 500 other bartenders, courting the votes of patrons for a shot at a $10,000 prize and a cover story in Bartender Magazine.
“It’s been a great journey,” he said. “You can see how the people support a guy who is just a bartender, you know, it's just crazy.”
Although his cocktails are anything but simple, Reyes’ philosophy as a mixologist is straightforward: “If you do something with love, with passion, it's gonna taste really good.”
Reyes moved to Puerto Vallarta for college, where he soon started working at the bar. When his mom bought a bar, he worked there. Together, they would watch cruise ships leave the port.
“One day I'll be working on one of those,” he told her.
And for two years, he did.
After attending mixology school and several more years bartending at upscale resorts, Reyes was recruited by Durango restaurateur Beto Navarro. Navarro was in the process of opening Cantera, a high-end Mexican restaurant. Reyes moved to Durango for the job.
For Reyes, Durango was a detour from his intended destination: Las Vegas.
The city, with its ritzy glamour, is the big leagues for bartenders. Reyes wanted to prove himself.
Although Cantera was successful, it shuttered about a year later during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reyes and Navarro quickly opened Taco Libre in the same location, and Reyes decided to stay in Durango, where he now has a wife and two kids.
Two years ago, Reyes moved to El Moro, where he has steadily built a reputation as a discerning, creative bartender, replete with the a flashy touch of flair.
“I can mix everything in my head,” Reyes said of his process. “… It's so weird. When I see a color, a texture, different flavors and aromas, I can just mix everything together. It's like, ‘OK, I'm gonna mix this with this. Blah, blah, boom, done.’”
When he goes to the grocery store, Reyes said he is constantly sniffing new fruits, herbs, teas – anything you can mix.
His curiosity for flavors led him to a bottle of Trakal, an uncommon liqueur distilled in the Patagonia region of Chile, stashed on a shelf of the bar.
“I tried it because I like to try everything ... and I was like, ‘Wow, this is something different, something really unique,’” Reyes said.
He made the “Yerba Santa” – which translates to “holy herbs” – a cocktail with mezcal, Trakal, tomatillo and pepperleaf syrup and lime juice.
When a distributor for Trakal stopped by El Moro, he was surprised to see the spirit appear on the menu. Intrigued, he asked to speak with the cocktail’s creator, and ultimately extended an invitation to Reyes; next month, he will be one of 20 American bartenders to visit the distillery in Patagonia.
Reyes speaks of his work in romantic terms that might seem hackneyed if he weren’t so obviously enamored. It’s fitting, perhaps, given that he calls the bar “my second wife.”
The pace of the work, surrounded by servers whisking order tickets and dishes by him in a hurried flow as patrons’ faces react to his creations with delight – “it’s like pure adrenaline.”
Reyes dreams of opening his own bar, “something different.” And he wants to stay in Durango, where his customers have become his best friends.
Voting for the quarterfinal round of the Bar Boss competition ends at 8 p.m. Jan. 25. Patrons can vote at barboss.org/2023/roberto-delgado.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
