New Cocktail Menu at El Vaquero

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I finally released a new cocktail menu that I’ve been working on since just before I left for Las Vegas. It’s not completely finished yet, but I really wanted to get something new out there, and it’s pretty close.

I’ve spent weeks testing and refining these drinks, and I think it’s my best menu yet. Stop in sometime and try one out, or make one at home. I promise I’ll have every one of these recipes up here soon.

Click here for a downloadable PDF of the menu.

19 Replies to “New Cocktail Menu at El Vaquero”

  • ND says:

    Yep, the correct spellings certainly aren’t redundant (even in the US!). Scotch is always spelled “Whisky”, and Irish is always spelled “Whiskey”. Not sure about the others, but there you go.

  • Jeffrey says:

    Thanks, Shawn! I fixed your URL, there, looks like you forgot a ‘w’.

  • I like it alot Jeff, Good Work.

  • Jeffrey says:

    Keith

    You’re exactly right! I wanted people to open themselves up to something new, and I was afraid of alienating people with egg whites. We of course use them in the drink, wouldn’t be a traditional Pisco Sour without them!

    The Brisa is equal parts vodka, orange liqueur (we use Patron Citronge) and grapefruit juice – up.

    I’ll have to check in the next time I’m in Seattle, an old dear friend of mine tends bar at the Virginia Inn. If you’re ever there, tell Freddy that Morgenthaler sent you.

  • jeffrey, i like your menu. a good mix of classics, classics re-interpreted and house-made inventions.

    curious why you didn’t list the ingredients on the pisco sour. using the traditional method, i’d assume you use egg whites… knowing egg whites turn people off for fear of salmonella poisoning, i’m sure you left out the ingredients for that reason. is that correct?

    also, what makes the Brisa a Brisa and not a Greyhound…?

    gonna have to make a trip to Eugene soon

    cheers
    keith

  • Jeffrey says:

    Thanks, Summer! But I don’t understand why it’s redundant, I have Irish Whiskey, American Whiskey, and Scotch Whisky, is that not right?

  • Summer Murphy says:

    Just a note —

    I think the menu looks wonderful! But I’d add a caveat that many people on this side of the Pond make this same mistake:

    You list Whisky and Whiskey; Irish, American, and Scotch. That’s rather redundant.

    The DRINK is scotch whiskey, the nationality is SCOTS, or so my Grandda Ross always insisted. But then, he also insisted that anyone who drank ice with their whiskey was a Sassenach (English)so and so.

    Slainte!

  • Jeffrey says:

    Oops! And here I pride myself on catching stuff like that, thanks for actually paying attention.

    I’m reprinting the menus tomorrow, when I add another drink to the list: the Tomato Daiquiri.

    You heard me.

  • Redthought says:

    Excellent options, I’d have a hard time deciding.

    I’m glad to see the whisk(e)y spit up like that. Nice.

    I small editing note: you don’t use dollar signs throughout, except with the beer list. Intentional?

    I can’t help it, sorry if it’s out of line to edit the menu…

  • your little sister says:

    I’m so glad to see Coors Light made the cut.

  • A. says:

    The menu looks lovely, and the drink selection looks wonderful (given my limited experience therein). And as an almost absolute teetotaller (what’m I doing here then, I know), thank you for having so many options for people who don’t want to have alcohol. Pomegrante juice is very yay.

  • Jeffrey says:

    Wow, thanks, everyone! I still feel like I’m a couple drinks shy of where I want to be, but when we’re not cranking them out by the hundreds, we’re searching for the right new flavors. I’ll post my findings if and when I get my act together.

  • Darcy says:

    Very nice. I like the limited “classics” with the twists.

    Darcy

  • kevin ludwig says:

    really nice list. i like the inclusion of the origins. gets people thinking. Great site, by the way.

  • Jimmy says:

    Hi Jeff,

    Nice menu. I’m working on a new one right now too. I’m going to send it to you for some back-and-forth. When it’s done, I’ll post it at the cocktail hour.

    Looks good, I’m going to print it out and have a good look at it today.

    Cheers,

  • Dan says:

    The Nacional sounds quite tasty.

    Nice menu!

  • Jeffrey says:

    Dominik, I’d love to see your menu sometime, you should drop me an email through the contact for if you have it on a computer! I have a big collection of cocktail menus from around the world and am always interested in seeing more.

    As for the drink descriptions, I prefer the minimal yet informative method. I get tired reading huge descriptions, “Cosmopolitan – Grey Goose vodka, triple sec, a squeeze of lime juice and a dash of cranberry, shaken and served up in a chilled martini glass with a wedge of lime” seems more like a recipe than a listing on a menu.

    And, yes, I copied that verbatim from one of the menus in my collection. Yikes.

    Take the Richmond Gimlet, for example. My customers know that a gimlet is a lime-based cocktail, so I tell them that it’s a) made with gin, Tanqueray 10 to be specific, and b) different because it has mint. End of story!

    This weekend will be the big test. We’re about to see if everyone likes the drinks and, more importantly, if the two of us can knock them all out in a timely fashion. Wish us luck!

  • Dominik MJ says:

    Very nice beverage menu!
    I think you found an ideal balance between this pompous beverage explanation and the minimalistic bullet point listing of ingredients- well done!
    I’ve created last year more a bible of a menu – but my understanding changes now slightly and I prefer now more a more a smaller selection of mixed drinks, which is changing more often… may be supported by the complete list!

    Cheers!

    DMJ

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