Alberto Nieto of Jac’s on Bond Shows Us How to Mix a Spicy Summer Cocktail

“We might have put some thought into this,” said Alberto Nieto, the head bartender at Jac’s on Bond, as he walked me through their new menu. Cocktails range from caprese martinis to lemon pepper gin and tonics, but it’s the intangibles that bring it all together, an ineffable balance between trying too hard and not trying at all. The subtlety of Jac’s on Bond’s cocktail flavors belies days of fermenting and taste-testing. Each sip, infused with months of research and development, goes down like water. “It’s complicated enough to be kind of amazed by it,” Nieto explained. “But also simple enough that you can enjoy it and not feel like you’re drinking your rent.” Last week, the team at Jac’s on Bond invited us to come by the Lower Manhattan watering hole—where on any given day you might spot Justin Theroux or Nicholas Braun—for an afternoon of day-drinking. A few drinks in, Nieto revealed the cocktail he refuses to make.

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ALBERTO NIETO: Okay, let’s make the Lemon Pepper Stepper. I wouldn’t call it low-ABV, because it does have gin in it, but it’s definitely on the lighter side. Cucumber has a very metallic flavor when it sits. So, we infuse water with cucumber just to give it a hint. We don’t necessarily want the full flavor because it can be affected by acidity. 

EMMA STOUT: You’re like an alchemist, mixing acids and bases.

NIETO: I actually Googled this right before you got here. After we infuse the cucumbers for 24 to 48 hours, we make celery syrup and add some gin. Then we carbonate it in-house. Actually, I can show you how we carbonate one.

STOUT: Damn. That sounds crispy, opening the bottle.

NIETO: Yeah, it’s the best spicy water you’re going to get. We do two carbonations. We do one, then we put it in a really cold fridge for five minutes, and then we do a second one. You can imagine during service that’s kind of fucking crazy, though, because you look like a mad scientist.

STOUT: So how many drinks does this one batch make?

NIETO: Two or three. [Laughs] It was an ambitious project. You have to lick the lemon pepper on the rim.

STOUT: Gucci Mane needs to try this. He would love it.

NIETO: I was thinking more of Rick Ross, to be honest with you.

STOUT: Tell me about the next cocktail.

NIETO: This one, it’s an ode to self-care in my opinion.

STOUT: What’s the name of it again?

NIETO: Oaxacan Vinyl, because the mezcal that we use comes from Oaxaca– Rosaluna. It’s a mezcal that’s not too smoky. I think that’s our slogan, actually: “Not too smoky.”

STOUT: C’mon, brand plug.

NIETO: And the inspiration behind this was a white negroni. We make it with Suze, which is a very botanical liqueur, and then we add a bergamot liqueur.  I don’t know if you’ve had 7UP, but it smells like 7UP.

STOUT: Yeah, it’s citrus-y. They should make a candle.

NIETO: Right? What we do is we mix the liqueur and mezcal. We mix Carpano, which is a white vermouth. And then we do the rosemary, which soaks in a mezcal and Carpano mixture for 24 to 48 hours depending on the flavor. Sometimes the rosemary’s not as strong, so you have to tweak and adjust.

STOUT: So with the infusion, you’re waiting for the rosemary to shine through?

NIETO: Yeah. But rosemary tends to go bitter after a little while. And you don’t want that, because that changes the whole complexity of the cocktail.

STOUT: Why’d you say this one was a self-care drink?

NIETO: Because it’s the kind of drink you can sit down and understand and enjoy and get to know and really indulge in whatever it is you’re doing. Maybe light a spliff. Play a record. You have to enjoy it top to bottom, like smoking a cigar almost.

STOUT: Right, you want to savor it. Why are you smacking the rosemary?

NIETO: It’s activating the smell in it. Yeah, the rosemary smells delicious.

STOUT: You woke it up.

NIETO: Last but not least, the grand finale: Oh Snap.

STOUT: So this cocktail takes the most prep time?

NIETO: Yeah, we have to ferment the peas with Chardonnay vinegar that we infuse with ginger. We also make a green pea and mint syrup and use a Chartreuse liqueur. This bad boy right here, it’s really hard to get in New York. Bars are only allowed to order, I believe, six bottles a month.

STOUT: Why?

NIETO: Because it’s made by monks in the mountains. So they make a very limited amount. It’s been around forever, but it’s very sought after.

STOUT: Chartreuse, oh my God, the monks are so brat. So this is a sipping drink?

NIETO: This is a sipper, yeah. Soothing. It has kind of an umami flavor. We also use a bit of citric acid on it when we make the fermentation. It is vinegar forward, I would say. The peas that you are seeing there are the ones used to make the syrup, so there’s no waste.

STOUT: Oh, is that why they’re hard to keep then? Because it’s already—

NIETO: Yeah, they’re cooked in sugar, which is kind of the hardest thing. Take a sip.

STOUT: Very nice.

NIETO: Thank you. It’s made with straight up gin, the kind of gin that you would enjoy either on the rocks or straight.

STOUT: What’s your go-to spirit if you’re out drinking?

NIETO: Mezcal. Either a glass of wine or Mezcal. I don’t discriminate, though. 

STOUT: There’s beauty in all alcohol. But what’s a drink you wouldn’t make if someone ordered it? 

NIETO: I hate when people order porn star martinis. Also, I won’t, under any circumstances, make a Long Island Iced Tea.