El Gallito (Pineapple-Chipotle Pitcher Cocktail) Recipe

By
Maggie Hoffman
Maggie Hoffman is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Maggie Hoffman
Maggie Hoffman is a writer and editor focusing on cocktails and food. She was the managing editor for Serious Eats until 2016 and is the digital director for Epicurious.
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Updated Apr. 29, 2019
OneBottleCocktail_El-Gallito-edit
Photograph: © Kelly Puleio 2018, resized for publication

Why It Works

  • The base spirit is flexible: Vodka lets the drink’s vivid flavors shine, but the mix is also good with reposado tequila.
  • The solids that you strain off the blended mixture become a fresh, spicy salsa that’s excellent with chips.

This rare treasure, an umami-rich sweet/salty/smoky chipotle number from Matthew McKinley Campbell of Comal in Berkeley, California, and A Mano in San Francisco, balances juicy pineapple with grassy, green cilantro. It straddles the line between sweet and savory: A handful of cherry tomatoes tamps down the fruity flavor without pushing the drink into full-on Bloody Mary territory.

Reprinted with permission from The One-Bottle Cocktail: More Than 80 Recipes With Fresh Ingredients and a Single Spirit by Maggie Hoffman, copyright © 2018. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

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Recipe Facts

5

(1)

Active: 15 mins
Total: 15 mins
Makes: 12 drinks

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Ingredients

  • 25 fresh cilantro stems, with leaves
  • 2 scallions, top third of greens removed
  • 8 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 cup diced fresh pineapple
  • 8 ounces (240ml) fresh lime juice
  • 5 ounces (150ml) water
  • 4 ounces (120ml) undiluted agave nectar
  • 1 ounce (30ml) adobo sauce from canned chipotles
  • Pinch kosher salt
  • About 24 ounces (720ml) vodka (see note)
  • 12 cocktail picks, each with 1 cherry tomato half, for garnish

Directions

  1. Slice cilantro and scallions into 3-inch segments, then add to a blender along with tomatoes, pineapple, lime juice, water, agave nectar, adobo sauce, and salt. Process until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large measuring cup. (You can reserve the solids to make into a salsa, if desired.)

  2. Measure the liquid mix (it should yield about 24 ounces) and pour into a 2-quart pitcher or resealable container along with an equal volume of vodka. If not serving right away, refrigerate for up to 3 hours.

  3. When ready to serve, stir mixture well, then add 1 1/2 cups ice to pitcher and give it another gentle stir. Pour into ice-filled rocks glasses and garnish each one with a speared cherry tomato half.

Special equipment

Blender, fine-mesh strainer or chinois

Notes

Try reposado tequila instead of vodka for a slightly richer, more herbal beverage.

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