Behind the Jigger: Cocktail Class with Mexican Spirits
We arrived at OSTO Room on a Friday at 6:00pm, when the amber tones of the sky were slowly beginning to fade between the buildings of El Centro. We pushed open the door and climbed a staircase feeling, for a moment, that we were crossing into another time. Once in the waiting area, a warm glow revealed an old house elegantly remodeled with earthy textures and dim lighting that highlighted the decorative elements.
We looked at each other with amazement and curiosity. The air had a faint scent of citrus and herbs, a smell that came not from a drink served, but from the fact that the place seemed to be alive, as if infused with liquid memory.
Jeremy Albelda was the first to approach us. He had the natural smile of someone who enjoys receiving people into their home, and he extended his hand to welcome us. Then he offered us raicilla and said that a toast was part of the entrance ritual. As we toured the place, we noticed that his presence had an exact mix of warm hospitality and quiet security—the kind that comes from a person who knows exactly why they are there.
Then Carlos Unger appeared, with the calm aplomb of an observer who notices every detail. While Jeremy explained how the idea of bringing the concept to Puerto Vallarta had come about (an evolution of a previous project in Mexico City), Carlos intervened to complete the story, describing the intention to create an intimate, almost sacred space. “We wanted it to feel like a contemporary cave,” he said. “A refuge.” His words resonated as we caressed the walls finished in chukum, an elegant natural finish.
Alex Ainsworth, host and mixology instructor at OSTO Room.
But the real entrance on the scene occurred moments later, when Alex Ainsworth came out from the back with a cocktail shaker in his hand. Its energy changed the atmosphere to something more specific. There was a serene, almost ceremonial concentration in it. Everything that was about to happen depended on his guidance.
The table was ready: jiggers and shakers lined up, bottles of Mexican spirits and small trays with herbs, essences and fruit slices. The utensils glistened in the amber light, as if expecting a perfectly rehearsed choreography.
Alex started the class without haste. He spoke about the ingredients, but above all, about the reason for each one. He explained that a cocktail is, before a recipe, a decision: how much acid the liquor allows to breathe, what type of sweetener builds structure, and what texture is created when shaken and not when stirred. His voice had the tone of the teacher who refuses to impose; proposing, suggesting and guiding.
The first preparation was a Margarita, but not the one you think you know. Alex asked us to use the jigger to measure each of the ingredients: “Balance is what holds everything together,” he said. Pour them into the shaker, add ice and cover it with a lid. “We’re going to shake it carefully, just to refresh the drink.” When we served it, we noticed that the liquid had a different shine, a consistency that invited us to taste it. “Sometimes, the simple thing is what surprises us the most,” he told us, watching us as if he enjoyed seeing how each one of us discovered our own wonder.
Then we moved on to the macerated cocktail, which was freer and everyone could choose their own ingredients. Carlos watched from the head table, fascinated by how even those who had never prepared anything at home were encouraged to experiment with slices of jalapeño chile, strawberry or pineapple. “Technique represents 70 percent of the preparation of a cocktail,” Alex said. “But the remaining 30 percent is creativity. It’s what connects you to your own essence.”
We found ourselves adding ingredients that we would never have considered before. The result was surprising, not so much because it was perfect—obviously it wasn’t—but because we understood why we had come up with that combination.
Carlos Unger, Alex Ainsworth & Jeremy Albelda, partners at OSTO Room.
Throughout the entire experience, the conversation with the three partners was as eye-opening as the workshop itself. Jeremy talked about the importance of authentic hospitality, the kind that transforms an entire trip. Carlos told us how OSTO Room uses local ingredients and aims to create community. Alex, between gestures, let us glimpse that for him, cocktails are a kind of bridge between the technical and the sensory and between the tradition of Mexican culture and the experimentation of those looking to intimately understand it.
“Each cocktail tells the story of a Mexican producer,” he mentioned while showing us the artisanal spirits we work with. That phrase was a declaration of respect.
At the end of the experience, while we enjoyed our drink and finished our last conversations, we stayed a few more minutes inside the room, in no hurry to leave. It hadn’t felt like a workshop or a class, but rather, the feeling of entering a space where the preparation of drinks becomes a common language and where every decision, aroma and ingredient is the star of the story.
When we left, night had already fallen on Puerto Vallarta. We walked in silence for a few steps, each one processing what we had experienced. “That was the most delicious Margarita I’ve ever had,” someone from the team said and we laughed because we immediately realized it was true. There we understood that some experiences not only seek to impress but also resonate through originality.
Comments