How It Started: Julian Cox’s Barbacoa Cocktail

Back in the mid-aughts, as the cocktail renaissance spread from New York City throughout the country, bartender Julian Cox was making a name for himself in Los Angeles as one of the first bartenders to bring quality cocktails to restaurants. In those early days, the creative and culinary force of cocktails and bartenders hadn’t yet been fully realized. A majority of restaurants, especially fine dining, went all in on their wine lists while offering only a short selection of simple mixed drinks. But in 2009, while crafting the summer menu at Chef John Sedlar’s Rivera in downtown LA, Cox ended up creating the Barbacoa cocktail. It not only put the restaurant on the map but spotlighted the then-overlooked and misunderstood agave spirit, mezcal.

Rivera went on to win nods as a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Bar Program from 2012, when the category debuted, to 2014, when the restaurant shuttered. Cox opened many more restaurant bars for chefs such as Nancy Silverton, Tim Hollingsworth, Ori Menashe, and Walter Manzke, as well as trained a generation of bartenders who ran their own programs and bars. He also oversaw the beverage programs for Lettuce Entertain You restaurant group in Chicago and MGM Resorts in Vegas. Meanwhile, his Barbacoa cocktail has endured as a modern classic. “I have been blown away by its mark on people,” says Cox. “It’s one of the most requested drinks people still ask me for all these years later.”

We reached out to Cox for the story behind the Barbacoa, how it came to be, and the elements that inspired it.

Interview edited for space, clarity, and context.

Julian Cox:

After Chef Sedlar and I took a trip to Mexico together, I felt I had a responsibility to share this amazing spirit with more people. Wyatt Peabody, the brand rep for Del Maguey at the time, introduced me to Del Maguey back in 2007, and I loved the various versions I tried. In Mexico, I even got to taste straight from the Filipino still and was sold on it.

Bartenders were using mezcal as a modifier back then, and not many people had heard of it before. A lot of neo-classic specs have small amounts or split-based drinks with mezcal. But the Barbacoa leans into smoke with 2 ounces and introduced the spirit to a new crowd.

At Rivera, I wanted to create a truly seasonal cocktail menu, much like Scott Beattie did at Cyrus in Healdsburg. Our general manager kept telling me we need to “change the game”—almost mocking me but in good fun. The intent was to bridge Latin flavors with American summer. That made me think of barbecue. That’s how the name came to me. It clicked, and there was no changing it.

Savory cocktails are often tricky. I wanted to avoid any comments about the drink being “interesting,” which is never a good sign. I knew I wanted chipotle for spice. And when I added a touch of ginger, people started reacting very positively. But it took me a while to come around to it. There are shades of the Penicillin. I remember trying it with honey, and it did not work. I tried lemon and lime juice. Something about muddling the limes and adding the lemon juice balanced the drink out really well. 

Back in the mid-2000s, guests and contemporaries enjoyed fresh juice and fruit, often for the first time. Many of us would do quite a bit of muddling, which was seen as beautiful. The technique produces visuals and flavors that other methods of mixing can’t exactly replicate. No matter how good your clarified cucumber cordial is, it’ll never be better than actual cucumbers. The necessity for speed and revenue meant the death of muddled drinks. You just don’t see it very much anymore except for a smash or a Mojito. Most of the original Rivera menu had muddled drinks, but now I rarely put them on menus.

A trip to Chef Nancy Silverton’s Pizzeria Mozza inspired the beef jerky garnish. That butterscotch budino, which came with this rosemary and salt cookie, is the most beautiful dessert pairing I’d ever experienced. I wanted to do something like that with a drink. I tried a bunch of beef jerky; you need something with structure but tender, not completely dried out and hard. If the jerky is the right consistency, it transforms each sip. Without the garnish, you don’t get the full experience.

When it finally came together, we knew it was a great drink after the second or third server’s reaction. Chef Sedlar loved the Barbacoa. He was very open to new things and enjoyed being avant-garde, even controversial at times.

I’ve done Barbacoa riffs with Calabrian pepper for Italian places and harissa for Mediterranean concepts in the past. I like to see savory cocktails on menus. Yes, sometimes people take it a bit too far. But pushing the boundaries is what makes it fun, right?

—As told to Caroline Pardilla

The post How It Started: Julian Cox’s Barbacoa Cocktail appeared first on Imbibe Magazine.