The cocktail renaissance that rekindled good drinking in the early 2000s never left, and two decades later it’s more common than rare to see well-made cocktails on bar and restaurant menus. But while much has changed — fewer speakeasies, vests, and fedoras — the best bartenders remain committed to creating unique, well-balanced drinks that feel both innovative and familiar at the same time.
These bartenders have long been using herbs, vegetables, and other savory ingredients to imbue their drinks with flavor. That includes cilantro, which has been employed in Margaritas, Mojito riffs, and more over the years. But a recent rise in original cilantro cocktails, and the introduction of a bottled cilantro spirit, has put the herb front and center. This seems especially notable considering cilantro’s notorious polarization — people either love it or hate it, with the latter camp often complaining that it tastes like soap.
Empirical Spirits, based in Brooklyn, N.Y., released its cilantro spirit last fall. It’s made from a base of French wheat, plus cilantro stems and leaves, lime, and tomatillo, and is bottled at 38% alcohol by volume. It’s an easy tool in the bartender’s arsenal.
Lolita in New York City makes the No Güey with sotol and Empirical’s cilantro spirit. Photo Credit: Lolita
“Odd ingredients will always, and should always, intrigue a bartender and cocktail creator,” said Marshall Minaya, partner and beverage director at Lolita, a modern Mexican restaurant and bar in New York City. He calls Empirical Cilantro a “balanced and aromatic spirit.”
Lolita features the product in its No Güey cocktail, which combines sotol with Empirical Cilantro, nori liqueur, bitters, and a float of mezcal.
“Cilantro pairs well with agave notes, and in my opinion, so does tomatillo,” said Minaya. “With agave being the highest-demand spirit category right now, it makes perfect sense to see cilantro also trending in cocktails. I also enjoy using it not as a forward ingredient, but one that accompanies green peppers.”
Dear Strangers, a Latin American-inspired bar that opened in New York’s Greenwich Village in November, enlists cilantro and coriander seeds, which come from the same plant, in its Star Treatment cocktail. The build also features sotol, lemon grass, ginger, pineapple, coconut milk, and lime juice.
“The response to the cocktail has been great,” said Ivan Radulovic, head bartender and co-founder of Dear Strangers. “It’s slightly sweet from the pineapple and coconut, with zest from lime and ginger and freshness from cilantro and lemon grass. Guests are loving it. Once one person at a table orders it and their friends take a sip, they want one, too. It’s the kind of cocktail that leaves you wanting a second, even if you only came for one round.”
Dear Strangers enlists cilantro and coriander seeds in its Star Treatment cocktail. Photo credit: Dear Strangers
Radulovic added that, now more than ever, drinkers are embracing the depth and complexity that savory elements can add to cocktails.
“The Star Treatment offers an inviting option for those looking to experiment without straying too far from their comfort zone,” he said.
Not everyone likes cilantro, and some guests simply hate it. You can’t please everyone, but you can increase your chances by featuring cilantro in the right ways.
“Whenever you use cilantro as a main ingredient, you will get instant pushback. But if you use it as an ancillary ingredient, you will find amazing results,” said Gabe Sanchez, cocktail expert at Midnight Rambler, a bar inside The Joule hotel in Dallas.
Midnight Rambler’s El Nopal cocktail combines barley shochu with housemade prickly pear-coriander liqueur, nopales cilantro water, and a citrus solution. Sanchez finds that cilantro’s sharper flavor is balanced by the fuller, softer bass notes of the nopal.
It’s not just a U.S. phenomenon. NoMad London’s cilantro-laced Sergeant Pepper is the bar’s best-selling drink. Photo credit: NoMad London
Cilantro cocktails aren’t just an American trend. Plenty of bars and restaurants in Mexico use the herb, including the famed Licorería Limantour in Mexico City. One of the bar’s best-known drinks is an Al Pastor Margarita that features cilantro in its “taco mix” infusion, along with pineapple juice and serrano peppers, and also via a cilantro-salt rim. And NoMad London makes the Sergeant Pepper, a cachaça cocktail featuring a green sangrita packed with cilantro stems. Bar manager Marco Meloni said it’s the bar’s best seller.
But even as cilantro cocktails spring up on more menus, guests and bartenders still aren’t immune to strong feelings on cilantro.
“It’s funny because I have bartenders that are repulsed by cilantro, but are slowly coming around to its flavor in a cocktail,” said Minaya, who believes that using Empirical’s cilantro spirit is a bit less abrasive than using fresh cilantro in a cocktail. Either way, the herb is hard to ignore when it’s included on a menu, no matter its form.
“Cilantro is a well-known flavor,” said Minaya. “If you like it, you love it. So if you see it in a cocktail, it stands out to you.”
