Mexico City Cocktails was an interesting mix of informational history, interviews with bartenders, and cocktail recipes!

Mexico City Cocktails intrigued me after reading a book from the same publisher that focused on Chicago. I think I preferred this one! Although some of the specific spirits are less available to me, I was much more interested in learning about the local and indigenous spirits that a lot of Mexico City are bringing back to the center of the mixology scene.

I liked the short description/history provided for each and I think there was a great mix of local Mexican flavored spirits, Americanized spirits, and the more one-off kind of additions.

Ultimately I really did enjoy this and I have definitely bookmarked a number of recipes for me to try making in the future!

A gorgeous book and must have for any intermediate cocktail aficionado! Made me yearn for the summer sun to enjoy!

Perfect for the cocktail connoisseur, but not necessarily for everybody. Lots of info on the origins of the cocktails, but some of the ingredients are not so easy to get hold of. A fun gift for mixologists.

Mexico City Cocktails is a compilation of cocktail recipes from iconic and prominent places in Mexico City. It details the city's general culture and diversity while capturing its essence. It's interesting and creative while providing the history of the classic or unique cocktails.

This is a fun recipe book and an homage to Mexico City. While the recipes are not exactly beginner friendly, I think there's something for everyone in it. I can't wait to give some of the recipes a try.

I loved this book so much, I bought a copy for an upcoming trip to Mexico City!

Even though this stylish guide is small enough to fit in a handbag, it is replete with local flair, touching on everything from the vibrant cocktail culture of CDMX to bios of local writers, bar owners and mixology maestros.

Organized by neighborhood, this colorful compendium features beloved cocktails, recipes and photos from the top bars and cantinas of each.

I can't wait to visit and sip my way through CDMX with this little gem as my trusted cocktail companion!

Martha Márquez’s Mexico City Cocktails is a feast for the senses, beautifully blending vibrant photography, creative recipes, and a celebration of Mexico City’s rich cultural heritage. The book is stunningly photographed, with every cocktail captured in a way that evokes the lively, artistic spirit of the city itself. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to head straight to the kitchen—or the nearest cocktail bar.

One of the standout features is Márquez’s attention to detail. Each recipe not only outlines the ingredients and method but even specifies the type of glass to use, adding a professional touch for those looking to recreate these drinks authentically. However, many of the recipes call for specialised ingredients that might prove challenging for the average home bartender. For instance, not many of us have edible rice paper printed with a portrait of Frida Kahlo just lying around! While this might make some recipes less accessible, it also highlights the creativity and artistry behind each drink.

As with most recipe books I’ve read in e-book format, I couldn’t help but feel this one would be far better as a hard copy. The tactile experience of flipping through its vibrant pages, cocktail in hand, would add another layer of enjoyment to the book.

All in all, Mexico City Cocktails is a lovely addition to any cocktail enthusiast’s collection. For me, it brought back wonderful memories of many trips to Mexico City—its colours, its energy, and, of course, its unforgettable flavours. While it may not be the most practical for everyday use, it’s an inspiring and visually delightful celebration of a truly remarkable city.

Last year, I had the pleasure of visiting CDMX, and it was such a vibrant and beautiful experience. The energy of the city, the colors, the food—it was all so alive! This book captures that essence. From the colorful cover to the rich content inside, it’s like a mini trip to "el DF" and could be a great souvenir or gift for someone who misses Mexico.

The book is full of gorgeous photos that showcase the landmarks of Mexico City, and if you've visited, you'll instantly recognize some of these iconic places like El Angel de la Independencia. It’s not just about the cocktails, it also gives you a deeper dive into the culture and history of the city. I loved the sections on the agave plant used to make tequila and mezcal, and how the book touches on Mexican drinking culture using slang such as chilangos, used by the locals.

One of my favorite parts of the book is how it makes you feel like you're part of the city's vibrant drinking scene. Each chapter dives into different neighborhoods, and the one on Polanco and Las Lomas really transmits the ambiance of those quarters. The cocktails in these chapters, like the Margarita con Revolución, had me dreaming of warm evenings with friends, enjoying a delicious drink with a view.

Each cocktail comes with a beautifully edited photo, but also tips on the perfect glassware and garnishes to give you an original or unique drink. I appreciate how much attention is paid to the visual aspect of the cocktails, because a great drink deserves a great presentation.

I also loved the personal touches which make the whole experience feel super authentic. The recipes themselves range from simple to a bit more complex, requiring some extra ingredients like syrups and infused liquors. While some drinks might take a bit more time and effort, it's the kind of thing you would go all out for if you’re hosting a party or just want to recreate someone's favorite drinks.

This book would make a thoughtful gift for anyone who loves cocktails, wants to learn about Mexican drinking culture, or simply appreciates a good tequila or mezcal. It’s not just a recipe book—it’s a celebration of Mexico City, and I would recommend it to my friends who are into cocktails, travel, or Latin America.

Mexico City Cocktails
Author: Rosa Martha Márquez Oropeza
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a really fun cocktail book! I really like how the recipes are featured from different bars in Mexico City and that the author lays our a "shopping list" of ingredients in the beginning of the book so you know what will be used throughout the book. The only thing I didn't like about the book was that the style of the photos feels disjointed. The photography was done by a lot of different people and you can definitely tell. Aside from that, the recipes all sound interesting and I can't wait to try more of them out!

Thanks to NetGalley, Cider Mill Press, and Rosa Martha Márquez Oropeza for an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts in this review are my own.

The eye candy of the cocktail photos alone could justify the cost of the book. This is not just 100 recipes, but a cultural introduction to alcoholic mixed drinks, as well as third places like cantinas, in Mexico City. Also, scattered throughout the book are introductions to a number of mixologists, with brief bios and quotes. Each recipe has easy instructions and again, the highlight of the book is a photo of the finished product, along with the proper glass (or sometimes not a glass) and garnish! Don’t expect half of these recipes to be margaritas, or even tequila-based. This is a wide assortment of cocktails, anything from fairly simple, where you may just need to purchase one more ingredient and can mix your drink in minutes, to fairly complex.

This is such a wonderful collection of cocktails inspired by Mexico City. The soul of the city is really captured in this beverages and the book was such a joy to read!

I can't wait to try recipes from this book!

This is a love letter to Mexico City.

Thank you to NetGalley, Cider Mill Press and Rosa Martha Márquez Oropeza for giving me an ARC of this cool book!

First of all, I don’t usually buy cookbooks because they tend to disappoint me. In this era of social media where I can find beautiful and mouthwatering recipes easily and for free, when I buy a cookbook my number one criterion is that I want a book that will deliver on the aesthetic aspect with beautiful pictures and impeccable formatting. My second criterion is that I want to keep reaching for it because the recipes are interesting and delicious. 

With this book, I had really high hopes because even if the recipes didn’t inspire me, it was also a travel book where I could highlight places I would like to go when travelling to Mexico. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t deliver on all accounts. I found everything to be really inconsistent. While some recipe pictures were beautiful, others were amateur at best. For the texts, some were so surface-level and insignificant that I thought they belonged more in a BuzzFeed article, while other parts were interesting and researched.

Overall, I know my review seems harsh and I have to say that not all the information, recipes, and pictures were bad, it’s just that I thought this book would be better. In a world where there are thousands of books on similar subjects, I want to buy one I will enjoy and keep reaching for. Unfortunately, this one is not. 

Thank you NetGalley and Cider Mill Press for the ARC.

Really nice book, so useful!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access this book in exchange for my feedback.

I liked these Mexico City cocktail recipes!!! I think they were so unique, flavorful, colorful, and they all tasted so good! I think the photos were so nice and pretty, and the recipes were great and easy to follow. I liked it a lot!! and will make these more frequently!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

I haven't been to Mexico City but this book makes me want to jump on a plane and go. The book is visually stunning, with colorful photography that mirrors the vibrancy of Mexico City itself. Each recipe is paired with cultural insights, making it as passport to Mexico City as a cocktail guide. I loved every second of it.

Thank you Cider Mill Press and NetGalley for the early review. The above opinions are my own.

Rosa Martha Márquez Oropeza (Martha Márquez)'s Mexico City Cocktails dives into the history of Mexico through the different spirits and alcohol that have shaped its history. It is a great nod to Mexico's diverse and vibrant history. She pays close attention to the contributions made by indigenous communities to create spirits such as Mezcal. The recipes are easy to follow because the steps and directions are clear. The author, also adds additional notes to their recipe and step-by-step directions if an ingredient cannot be store brought.

The cocktail recipes are also provide insights to the creative ideas and passion of the individual mixologist and bartenders. The personal interviews, also show the distinctive nature of of the bar scene in Mexico City and how it has developed over time. Overall, Mexico City Cocktails is a great resource for aspiring mixologists, bartenders and spirit enthusiast.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mexico City Cocktails is a cocktail recipe book that is broken down by the neighborhoods in Mexico City. Along with the cocktail recipes, it has gorgeous photos of the city and profiles of bartenders. Each recipe gives a brief description that tells a little bit about the bar, drink, or creation of the drink. Each recipe also states the glassware used (even when it's a mermaid mug or puffer fish glass) and the garnish so you have the opportunity to fully recreate the cocktails.

I had hoped to find a recipe for my favorite tamarind mezcal margarita that I had while close to Mexico City but I'm still on the search. There are tons of drinks that look absolutely delicious; however, there are also a lot of ingredients that aren't something we normally stock. Some of the recipes require you to make other recipes to put into the drinks (ex: syrups, salts, infused liquors, etc) that mean the drinks are especially time consuming and labor intensive. While I think that could be fun if you are having a party and want to have a signature drink, it would be awful to put forth all that time and money and then not even like the drink! There are some recipes that are more simple and some garnishments that I think would be fun. This series appears to be such a gorgeous book that I would definitely want it as a reminder of places I'd been as a keepsake. I just don't think that I would be actually putting forth the time and effort to make the drinks if I hadn't already experienced them and wanted to recreate the feeling of the trip.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for an honest review!

*Mexico City Cocktails* is like a vibrant love letter to the city’s buzzing bar scene, and it’s perfect for anyone who loves a good drink. My husband and I have been having a blast recreating cocktails from this book on our date nights. One evening, we dove into a mezcal cocktail recipe that transported us straight to Mexico City—no plane ticket required! The smoky, complex flavors were a hit, and we’ve been making it ever since.

The book is split by neighborhood, making it super fun to explore the city’s drinks from the comfort of your own home. There are over 100 recipes, from classic tequila drinks to new creations, and we especially enjoyed the bartender interviews—they gave us the inside scoop on what makes Mexico City’s cocktail culture so unique.

With helpful tips from experts and food and drink suggestions that pair perfectly, this book is a must-have for cocktail lovers. Whether you're sipping a margarita or crafting a more adventurous mezcal concoction, it’s a great way to bring a little bit of Mexico City to your own home bar.