Each of the drinks that Gabriela Campos designs for the cocktail menu at Atarraya, the breezy surfer bar in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, tries to tell a story, with ingredients and preparations that speak to characters and settings and experiences.
Like the Xóchitl, for instance, a mezcal cocktail with the bright hue of a marigold that evokes the legend of that traditional flower’s birth. A totomoxtle ash syrup ties the drink to the pre-Columbian era. A focus on time – the mezcal is infused with the petals for 36 hours – points to death, where the legend finds its theme.
Campos, this year’s MICHELIN Guide Mexico Exceptional Cocktails Award Winner, has a great story of her own, arriving to this Pacific beach town like many others as a backpacker, and finding her “chosen family” at the restaurant.
“I always find inspiration in something and build the base of our signature cocktails from there,” she said in an interview. “They've all started with experiences, sometimes mine, sometimes those of the entire Atarraya team.”
Read on for our full interview, edited for length and clarity.
How did you design Atarraya's cocktail menu?
I think each drink is very unique and has a lot of personality. I always find inspiration in something and build the base of our signature cocktails from there. They've all started with experiences, sometimes mine, sometimes those of the entire Atarraya team. I would describe it as having a lot of personality.
Almost all of my drinks also tend to have women’s names. As a woman, it’s hard to stand out or be recognized in this field, which is mostly made up of men. I've often felt like we're not kept in mind or taken seriously when it comes to making drinks. So that's also what my menu offers. There's the Xóchitl, I have a La Santa, we had a Josefina, a Frida, a Diega.
We also have to adapt to the fruits that are in season and what's offered locally. It's a mix of honoring all the cool women, the whole seasonal offering, and telling stories that leave something more.
We almost never have a deadline or a rush to come up with new drinks. Instead we take our time and calm, with the support of the entire team, to develop ideas. It's kind of like a game. We always really enjoy the work. It’s a team effort that strives for unique drinks that tell a story or are something more than just flavors.
What's a cocktail on the menu that reflects your style?
An example is one of our best-sellers right now, the Xóchitl. That was a special for Day of the Dead that stems from the legend of Xóchitl and Huitzilin, which is the story of how the marigold flower came to be. A friend told me the story, and then I sort of picked up concepts from my own experiences or through the experiences of people close to me or those at the bar.
It’s a base of espadín mezcal macerated for 36 hours with marigold flowers, so it takes on a very rich flavor and an incredible color. Then it has a syrup of totomoxtle ash, hibiscus, and a little bit of lemon to balance all the flavors. We coat the rim of the glass with a salt of marigold flowers and dried chilies. It's a little bit from here, a little bit from here.
That's typically what I want to achieve. I want to tell a story and have the elements of the drink complement the story and speak to you.
Tell us about your history with cocktails. Where did you start making them?
For a long time, about two or three years, I was traveling a lot. I was more of a backpacker, a nomad, and I started working in this industry when I was younger as a waitress. From there, I started to climb the ladder. I was a barista in the U.S. for a while and on the weekends, for financial reasons, I worked as a bartender. That's when the spark ignited and a little bit of passion began. I saw that this could be more than just about making money.
When I arrived here in Puerto Escondido, I came with the same mindset, but I fell in love with the place and didn't want to leave. So when I arrived at Atarraya, I began to train more seriously and began to discover that this wasn't just a job, it was my passion. I'd often said that even if you weren't paying me, I'd be here because I have so much fun and it brings out my most artistic side. Formally, it wasn't until Atarraya that my bosses really grabbed me by the shoulders and said, “I trust you and we know you're going to do amazing work,” and that gave me a lot of encouragement, and I started to study a lot. It's been that way until now, and we're still going.
How has your taste in drinks changed over time?
It's changed a lot. At first, I only looked for sugary drinks that would get you drunk quickly. But now I look for flavors that are a little more complex, or just something that tells a story or is innovative. It's like, “Wow, what does carrot and strawberry taste like? What does beetroot taste like with totomoxtle ash, or this flower with that seaweed, or things like that?” I look for that, and I look for surprises now more than anything. Before, I drank just to pass the time, and now I look for it more as an experience.
What do you like to make for yourself if you want a drink after work?
If I’m really tired, like after work or something like that, I think it would be some variation of the negroni. We currently have one on the menu that’s made with Primo (a Mexican aperitif), a Mexican gin called Diega Rosa, which has rose petals and lavender and is very rich and very fresh, and then vermouth. That's what I usually end up having at the end of the day.
Hero image: Atarraya / Gabriela Campos
