As beverage director of acclaimed Los Angeles restaurant and agave bar Mírate, Max Reis has had plenty to smile about — and the man smiles a lot. The venue, co-owned by restaurateur Matthew Egan and chef Joshua Gil, landed on North America’s 50 Best Bar list in April. Last fall, VinePair’s Next Wave Awards crowned the venue Food and Beverage Program of the Year. These plaudits, a veteran presence in the L.A. bar scene, and years spent advocating for producers creating tequila and mezcal in traditional ways, reinforce Reis’ status as one of the cocktail world’s foremost authorities on all things agave. One of the finest examples of this mastery is Mírate’s whimsical, intensely technical, and all-around bonkers interpretation of the Paloma.
The Tu Compa (which translates to “your best friend” in English, even though its pronunciation is cheekily spelled out “puh-loh-muh” on Mírate’s menu) is refreshing and delicious, but it’s also deviant. It doesn’t simply call for tequila, lime juice, and grapefruit soda. Instead, Mexican sake, pulque, pomegranate liqueur, and a house-made version of grapefruit soda Squirt are involved in the mix. In other situations, this recipe may border on sacrilege, given how serious Southern California residents are about using Squirt in their Palomas. In Reis’ hands, though, it’s a must-have. It’s a good thing, too: It takes Reis three days to make each Tu Compa batch, which yields 65 servings. The drink’s quality needs to be worthy of such a massive undertaking.
So, how does Mírate turn a
