The Latest Inventive Cocktail At Xamán Café Is A Birria-Inspired Margarita Sure To Be A Hit Among Drink Enthusiasts And Foodies Alike.

Welcome to The Cocktease, where we aim to weekly present you a tasteful preview and review of a cocktail in DFW that deserves your attention, mouth and monetary support. For a good time, here’s something that might fit your personal tastes, because when I sip, you sip, we sip.

Name: Birria-rita.

Where to get it: Xamán Café. (334 W Jefferson Blvd, Oak Cliff.)

Cost: $12

When to order: Now, before the copy cats show up.

Ingredients: Tequila infused with birria spices, pineapple liqueur, pineapple, lime and agave.

Pairs well with: A shot of tobalá mezcal with a whole ass snake inside of the bottle.

A little more to sip on: Birria is hot right now.

If you’ve scrolled down any social media feed in the last year, at one point or another, you’ve probably seen vibrant and highly saturated videos of people dunking crispy cheese and goat meat tacos into a brownish-red goat stew known as birria. 

The stew — native to Jalisco, Mexico — has been the subject of many new infusions, including birria-infused barbecue, and even ramen. It was only a matter of time before mixologists like Orlando Trejo at Xamán Café would try their hand at creating the latest inventive cocktail for Ayahuasca Cantina — Xamán Café’s hidden and tucked away bar in the back of the building.

When we arrived at Xamán Café’s hidden ayahuasca bar, we had no prior knowledge that this cocktail even existed — much like the bar space itself. We simply asked for “anything you think the people ought to know” and were shortly presented with a cocktail that looks straight out of that one scene out of From Dusk Til Dawn. Oh, you know exactly which one.

You’re likely wondering how on earth a birria cocktail could be crafted without creating a sodium-pumped mess. While the folks at Xamán Café kept the specific ingredients a guarded secret, they were willing to share their process: Treat the tequila like a soup and infuse it with birria spices. And it works.

Similarly, this cocktail is reminiscent of an al pastor taco, where spice and savoriness function harmoniously with the sweetness of pineapple. Even if you’re not into drinks much, this is a great cocktail for the pickiest of foodies or visual nerds.

This cocktail is balanced with a fabulous agave garnish and comes with a fitting environment to enjoy it in. The ayahuasca bar’s spiritual and indigenous-inspired decor makes sipping this cocktail a thoughtful and intoxicating experience, no pun intended. Really, it is refreshing to enter a Mexican-style bar in Dallas without a giant portrait of Pancho Villa staring down at you. (Seriously, stop that.)

Sexy, Mexican and inventive with just a touch of mystery? Oh yes, Xamán Café. We’ll definitely be seeing each other again soon.

No more articles