‘I think I’m super curious,’ says Jarah Retana of El Primo Sanchez

You know El Primo Sanchez, in Paddington in Sydney, can be something of a loud, vibrant, party joint, with some great drinks served on the side. But did you know that there’s a smaller, moodier, more intimate bar tucked away inside called La Prima?

Well, now you do, and that’s where you can find the Spur Reviver, the cocktail from the talented Jarah Retana which saw him named among the top 25 finalists in the Espolòn Afterlife To The Bone cocktail competition.

Below, lightly edited and condensed for clarity, Jarah talks about his drink, about La Prima, and the way he thinks about drinks.

Describe this room for anyone who’s not been here. How do you even know this place exists?

Welcome to La Prima, it’s like a secret room inside of El Primo Sanchez.

This room is inspired by a traditional Mexican kitchen. And I think if you’ve been in El Primo Sanchez, you get drinks, a party vibe, friends. I think what we’re missing about the Mexican part was, you know, this comfortable place. This room reminds me a lot about my grandma and simple things. This is more private, more cozy, even though sometimes it gets like a party inside. Sometimes you can’t avoid a party. You get tequila, you get a party, right?

Tell us about the name of your drink and what’s the big idea behind it?

My drink’s name is the Spur Reviver, and it is a twist of the Corpse Reviver Number Two. I made this drink inspired by three basic elements, which is Espolón Tequila, the Day of the Dead, and the family of Corpse Reviver cocktails.

I wanted to take these elements and make them work together. First of all, Espolòn Tequila Blanco, because it’s fresh, it’s floral, citrusy, hint of pepper. I think I love that profile, and I think many of my cocktails go that way. So I made this cocktail especially to be made with Espolón Blanco.

Then the Corpse Reviver is a cocktail that has been on my mind for a while. I think it’s super cool and it has a lot of potential, but every time I made it people were like, what’s that? And what the name about? It’s not that common I think.

So I wanted to create a different version of it.

And then the third element was the Day of the Dead. It is a very important tradition for us in Mexico. I wanted not only to bring the real tradition to Australia, but also to share what it means for us. I think in Mexico, we don’t see death as an end, but a continuity. And somehow I think that gives us a sense of... death is more a motivation because we think it is part of life. The Day of the Dead is actually a celebration of life.

Where do you get ideas for drinks from?

My team for sure, and also from some books: Liquid Intelligence, is always a good source for new techniques, new ideas, it is amazing.

The Art and Science of Food Pairing, that just helped me to match all the ingredients together and make it work.

And in a recent trip to Bali, I found this like little dessert restaurant called Room for Dessert. And then I got this book with a lot of ideas and new techniques, a lot of things. It is just amazing. So the idea of putting a sorbet into a cocktail and the garnish comes from this book.

So do you often get your ideas from books or where do you get creative ideas for the drinks that you do?

I think I get a lot of ideas from the things that I already like. When I was younger, I used to have a lot of, we call it floating ice cream. I think you guys call it a spider, right? Like soda, with sorbet. I just loved that when I was a child. And then I wanted to make a cocktail with it. And also I found it was a nice way to bring sweetness in a different way.

So basically I make drinks from things that I really like, and then just try to put all the ideas together.

Why do you do what you do?

I think there are three elements that made me love hospitality. First of all is people.

My team, who I love, and interactions with people that’s always like nice. You never know who you’re gonna meet.

The second thing will be the passion that I have to create drinks, creating anything I think I’m super curious. So I always want to try something different, experiment with things.

And the last thing would be I think flavours and what comes with it. I love tequila but like everything behind it, producers, people, community, culture, tradition, everything. I think it’s a nice way to share and doing it around the world is just a privilege.

Spur Reviver

45 ml Chilled Espolón Blanco Tequila
20 ml Rose Aperitif infused with Marigold
20 ml Clarified Citrus Cordial
1 Scoop (40 gr) Mandarin Sorbet 

For the Rose Aperitif infused with Marigold:
750 ml French Rose Aperitif
15 gr Dried Marigold flowers
Put all the ingredients in a seal bag and place the bag in a sous vide at 65 degrees for 1.5 hours. Let it cool, strain it and bottle it. 

For the Clarified Citrus Cordial:
125 gr lemon peels
125 gr lime peels
60 gr grapefruit peels
500 gr sugar
400 ml lemon juice
400 ml lime juice
200 ml grapefruit juice
80 ml water
4 gr agar

Put the peels in a container with sugar and let them infuse in the fridge for at least 12 hours. Then add the juices to the sugar and peels and stir until all the sugar has dissolved, then strain the peels and put the cordial in a container. Heat 80 ml of water to 100 degrees and add the agar to activate it, then pour it into de juice, stir and put the mix in the freezer for 30 minutes. Take the mix out of the freezer and use a strainer and a coffee filter (or a clean cloth) to filter the mix until it looks cristal clear. Put it in a bottle and reserve.

For the Mandarin Sorbet:
150 gr water 
15 gr peppercorn
400 gr frozen spiced syrup syrup
300 gr frozen mandarin juice
10 gr sorbet stabiliser 
55 gr dextrose 

Heat 150 gr of water at 40 degrees for 3 minutes, then add the powders and heat the mix to 65 degrees for 5 minutes while whisking it. Add the frozen syrup & mandarin juice to a blender and blend everything until it gets a creamy texture. Put it in a container and freeze it to -18 degrees moving it every 30 minutes until the sorbet gets a silky texture. Keep it in the freezer.

For the Spiced Syrup:
300 gr sugar
200 ml water
15 gr peppercorn

Toast the spices in a pan, then put it in a pot with water to medium heat, put a lit on and leave it for 10 minutes. Take it out the heat, strain, add the sugar to the infusion and move it until the sugar has dissolved. Put it in a container and freeze it.

For the Mandarin Fruit Glass Garnish:
500 ml Mandarin Juice
125 gr Sugar
10 gr Pectin NH

Mix the powders, then bring up all the ingredients to a simmer, let it cool and let it set into a gel, then re-warm it at 50 degrees until it’s liquid again (thermomix 50 degrees- 1 min - 2 speed). Spread the mixture onto a silicon mat to create a thin sheet, let it cool and put it in a dehydrator at 45 degrees for 1 hour. When it has a flexible texture and its and pliable, then cut it In abstract crumpled shapes, put it back in the dehydrator for 24 hours at 55 degrees until the glass is hard. Store it with silicon bags