Fancy a Drink? Your Go-to Cocktails
You are now a guest of The Syntopia lifestyle destination on Crete Island, and you will find the experience as sophisticated as you. When you fancy a drink, our bars and newly opened roof garden serve craft cocktails and all kinds of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to quench your thirst. Here are some of your go-to cocktails to sample when you vacation at The Syntopia.
Margarita
Margarita is one of the world’s most popular beverages, with countless variations calling for various ingredients, ranging from traditional tequila and triple sec to amaretto, agave wine, ancho chiles liqueur, cognac, etc. Mixologists put a lot of thought and creativity into concocting the perfect margarita blends.
Who invented the first margarita cocktail? No one knows for sure. However, there are many claims, so take your pick:
- 1936: David Daniel “Danny” Negrete, at the time the manager of Hotel Garci Crespo in Tehuacán, Puebla, Mexico, creates the cocktail for his girlfriend, Margarita, who liked salt in her drinks.
- 1938: Carlos “Danny” Herrera, at restaurant Rancho La Gloria in Baja California, creates the cocktail for Ziegfeld dancer Marjorie King, who is allergic to most spirits but not tequila.
- 1942: Francisco “Pancho” Morales invents the drink at Tommy’s Place in Juarez, Mexico. He names it after a flower: daisy (in Spanish, “margarita“).
- 1948: Santos Cruz, head bartender at the Balinese Room in Galveston, Texas, creates the Margarita for singer Peggy (Margaret) Lee.
- 1948: Dallas socialite Margaret “Margarita” Sames invents the cocktail to impress friends at a Christmas party.
Regardless of who was the original creator of the drink, we cannot deny the cocktail’s popularity and… deliciousness.
And nothing beats a refreshing cucumber margarita. Our signature margarita is a light-tasting drink, refreshing, full of flavor, and calorie-low. It goes well with typical Cretan mezzedes and other snacks. And we created a unique recipe that replaces tequila found in most traditional recipes with dry gin – as gin has fewer calories than tequila. We also wanted to surprise you with a special taste that celebrates the Cretan summer.
Ingredients:
- 45 ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin
- 25 ml melon liqueur
- 15 ml Monin cucumber syrup Monin
- 25 ml lime juice
- 4 drops of foaming Monin
Method:
Add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake well with some ice. Strain into a classic margarita glass and garnish with a fresh cucumber stripe on a bamboo stick.
Mint Julep
Like the margarita, the mint julep is a traditional, historic drink and the official cocktail of the Kentucky Derby (a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States). The word julep comes from the Arabic julab, meaning rose water. Mint leaves replaced the rose petals in the Mediterranean, making room for the first “mint julep” – a non-alcoholic refreshment at the time.
The first alcoholic mint julep was probably created in the eighteen century. In 1803 it was documented in print as a “dram of spirituous liquor that has mint in it, taken by Virginians in the morning.” The cocktail became popular when Kentucky senator Henry Clay introduced it in Washington, D.C., at the Round Robin Bar. The original recipe calls only for bourbon, sugar, mint, and crushed ice. At The Syntopia bars and newly opened roof garden, you will enjoy our unique twist on an American classic.
Ingredients:
- 15 g sugar
- 40 ml bourbon
- 4 dashes of Angostura bitter + 2 more for topping
- 5 fresh mint leaves + extra for garnishing
- crushed ice
Method:
Add sugar and Angostura bitter to a double old-fashioned glass (rocks glass) or julep cup. Add mint and muddle lightly, swabbing the sides of the glass with mint. Fill the glass half full with crushed ice, add bourbon, and stir. Add more crushed ice and stir again until the glass frosts up.
Top with two extra dashes of Angostura bitter and fresh mint leaves.
Our signature margarita and mint julep cocktails celebrate summer and the carefree spirit of the gypset lifestyle that defines The Syntopia’s philosophy.
