About
Jose Luis was born in Mexico City in 1988. He comes from a middle- to lower-class family who had to get by on minimal income. His entire childhood was spent living in Nezahualcoyotl, a big city of one million inhabitants just outside of Mexico City. While still at school, his plan was to study something with computers, since he really enjoyed IT. Jose Luis thought it would give him a clear career path, but all his friends chose industrial maintenance for their in-depth study. Influenced by them, he opted to become a technician in that field as well. Soon, however, he realized that he was not very proficient in mathematics and he did not particularly like the field of electricity management or the fact that he was constantly covered in grime. Therefore, while still in university, he changed his course and started a tourism degree, which he eventually completed. As is so often the case, fate intervened and he met somebody at university who was working as a waiter at wedding receptions. The pay was very good, so Jose Luis decided to follow in his friend’s footsteps. He took a course on service and “how to prepare drinks,” and soon enough was working behind the bar instead of waiting tables. Soon he was moving from place to place, but in the beginning the quality of the clubs and bars was horrible. He did not learn much from it, and he saw neither progress in his career nor any pride in what he was doing. Nevertheless, Jose had a lot of fun, he was being paid well, and could party a lot. His idea was to work in each place for a while, earn money, and have a good time. It was easy for him to leave one place behind and move to another, until the day he started working at Licorería Limantour. Then everything changed.
Licorería Limantour
Licorería Limantour is a very honest bar. The team likes to attend to people and good hospitality is at the center of everything they do. The liquid creations do not fall short, though, as the team takes pride in mixing excellent compositions and using local ingredients. All in all, the team strives to create a cozy, welcoming feel through both the bar’s interior design and atmosphere. The bar is located in Roma, a district of Mexico City, and has a total of ninety seats. The menu changes twice a year, and developing a new one is a team effort led by the managers. The managers come up with a theme and present their ideas to the staff at a team meeting using mood boards. The staff are then encouraged to provide ideas based on the theme, and before anything is approved for their new menu, a group tasting takes place to ensure the highest possible quality. This takes place together with the second Licorería bar in Mexico City, which is located in Polanco. All in all, there are around fourteen people working in both bars. The bar is owned and operated by Ritual H, a hospitality consulting company based in Mexico City.
Inspiration
Jose Luis’s inspiration comes from many places. According to him, Mexicans are dreamers from the day they are born. It is such an amazing country, with a rich, colorful culture, creative gastronomy, and a joyful people. It is very easy to be-come inspired in a country like Mexico.
Favorite cocktail
Dry Martini, for sure. It is one of the simplest drinks in regards to ingredients, but it is also one of the easiest cocktails to get wrong. This is why Jose Luis puts extra care into making it and is always curious to see how other bartenders do it.
Check out Jose’s recipes Vicuña and Oakland.
Favorite bar
Two Schmucks in Barcelona.
The future of the bar world
Jose Luis is convinced that supply will eventually exceed demand. He hopes that the people behind the counter are ready for that kind of change. To be ready, one needs to be more professional, smarter than the others, have more experience, and be more conscientious.
Advice if someone wants to open a bar
Do not rush! He thinks the right moment to do it will come to everyone at the right time.
Mexico City
Mexico City is his favorite city in the world. It has a lot of energy, and it makes you feel like part of a big machine.
Target in life
To be happy.
Best decision
Go for that Agua de alfalfa 13 years ago; meaning to become a bartender. When Jose was younger, he was not sure what he wanted to do with his life. He feels very fortunate to have chosen this profession since it makes him very happy.
Images: ©Christian Martinez
No Comments