Cocktail recipe
Picante de la Casa
A fiery tequila sour lifted by fresh lime, fragrant cilantro and a clean, lingering chili warmth.
Ingredients
- 60 ml (2 oz) reposado tequila
- 30 ml (1 oz) fresh lime juice
- 20 ml (⅔ oz) agave nectar
- 1 fresh red chili slice, approximately 6 mm thick
- 10 cilantro leaves with tender stems
- Garnish: 1 chili stem-end
Preparation
Gently muddle the chili slice in a shaker. Clap the cilantro once between your palms and add it without crushing. Pour in tequila, lime and agave; fill with ice and shake briskly. Fine-strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Finish with the chili stem-end.
Glassware
Rocks glass, fresh cubed ice
History
Soho House's own account traces the drink to a 2012 London programme review. Chris Hudnall, then beverage manager at Soho Beach House Miami, had created a more complex Margarita Picante. Chris Ojeda, bar manager at Soho House West Hollywood, simplified Hudnall's formula into the scalable Picante de la Casa. Thus Hudnall deserves credit for the precursor and Ojeda for the recognizable house standard. The drink belongs to the early-2010s wave of fresh-herb, chili-led tequila cocktails; the chain's expansion helped make it a global menu staple.
Mixology View
This is a house adaptation of a proprietary hospitality-group signature, not a claim to reproduce Soho House's exact formula. Chili heat should linger, while lime and cilantro remain clear.