Cocktail evolves with tequila cubes

Recipe modified for home cooks.

3280 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta. 404-873-4676, alma-atlanta.com.

I would love to have the recipe for Alma Cocina’s tequila cubes! They are amazing! Thanks.

— Tamara Ferretti, Kennesaw

When Ian Mendelsohn, beverage director for Alma Cocina parent company Fifth Group Restaurants, shared this recipe, he wrote, “Here is a simple cube anyone could make to pair with tequila.” The restaurant usually pairs the ice cube with Tequila Ocho from Rancho Los Nopales, but you can substitute your favorite silver or blanco tequila. Just pour the tequila over the Plata Cube and enjoy a cocktail that evolves while you drink it.

“We love to explore how ice affects the flavor and texture of cocktails,” Mendelsohn wrote. “We update this program with the season, so we have infused cubes available year-round.”

The restaurant uses a wholesale product, a kilogram package of frozen morello cherry puree, available at websites such as igourmet.com. With shipping costs at almost $40, we decided to try using tart morello cherry jam, available at many grocery stores.

The restaurant uses Herradura agave nectar, available from Amazon.

We also cut the recipe down to a third of what Alma Cocina makes at one time and formed our cubes in a silicone ice cube tray that made 2-inch cubes, which is just the right size for a highball glass.

Modifying the recipe for home cooks without using those wholesale products and the restaurant’s blast freezer turned out to be something of a challenge.

The recipe below freezes well but produces a cube that may not have the concentrated flavor of those served at Alma Cocina.

We liked them with sparkling water as much as with alcohol. If you want something that better resembles the cubes at Alma Cocina, Mendelsohn recommends modifying the recipe by decreasing the agave syrup to 3/4 cup and the water to 1 cup.

We also discovered that these cubes were pretty delicious with bourbon as well as tequila.

The drink morphs as the cubes melt.

You start out with sips of the liquor and then as the cubes melt, the drink develops the texture of a slushy.

Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail. com and put“from the menu of”and the name of the restaurant in the subject line.

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