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Bartender Jay Kuehner, from The Cloud Room in Seattle, Washington created a cocktail based on Basque cider and mescal –a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the maguey plant native to Mexico– that has been chosen as one of the best cocktails of 2015, by The Seattle Times. “Is it the best drink in town?” asked Kuehner in conversation with EuskalKultura.com. “Who knows, but the group gathered around drinking it are sure to be of boisterous conviviality," he says.

Seattle, WA, USA. Seattle Times staff reporter Tan Vinh defined Jay Kuehner, from The Cloud Room, as “the most creative bartender” of the city. Whether he is the best, or just one of the best, isn't this bulletin's concern. However, the fact that Kuehner might have created the first cocktail ever based on Basque cider in the US, and is one of the first in the world, including the Basque Country itself, is news for EuskalKultura.com. He told us the story.

“To make a cocktail with sagardoa and mescal seems, from the perspective of flavor, obvious. From a cultural perspective, however, less so. In Mexico City the influence of Oaxacan mescal is pervasive and in Donostia and the nearby countryside you cannot eat without having a glass of local cider.”

As he explains, Kuehner loves travelling and immersing himself in the daily lives of the locals: “I travel often and among my dedicated destinations are DF (Mexico City) and beyond, and Euskadi, in particular Donostia, Iruña, and Bidarte.” For him, 'Txiki Manzana' is a creation to “pay tribute to several cultures.” And also “an earthy, bright, and strong concoction, true to its origins.”

Let’s have a drink

“When pouring drinks, I often enjoy simply tasting the essence of a particular beverage, be it distilled or fermented, with a little accompaniment beside,” said the experienced bartender. “So, here in Seattle, where we now have availability of quality mezcales (he uses either Nuestra Soledad or Leyenda) as well as Basque cider (he uses Isastegi, from Tolosa imported by Du Maison Selections, available at Spanish Table merchants), I was compelled to sip mescal with a small glass of sagardoa beside, and some apple slices  which have been drizzled with olive oil, a squeeze of lime, and a pinch of sea salt. Delicious.”

Kuehner, sometimes, also uses raw ginger and lime zest but, as he states, “it’s not an exact science either.”

He has recently discovered some Basque-American communities and their traditions –“the boarding houses or the frontons, from Los Banos to Ogden, Boise to Elko, Bakersfield to Park City, there is this rich history that parallels my travels in Euskadi”– and, as can be inferred from his words, he has become aware of the pride that Basques, in general, feel for their culture. “I do not speak Basque, but I use it in the name and in the conversation as a reference point and reminder of endeavoring to assimilate when crossing cultures. Just as Basque who came to the US had to learn a new language, a new culture, so too should I at least attempt to understand a little bit of the impenetrable language that is Euskara. A little eskerrik asko (Basque for ‘thank you’) goes a long way.”

Looking towards the future, he seems happy to think that “maybe, someday, down at a bar in Bakersfield, you will be able to ask for a Picon Punch, a Patxaran, and a Txiki Manzana.”

-‘Txiki Manzana’ can be ordered at The Cloud Room and, only on Wednesdays, when Jay Kuehner is working, at Damn the Weather. The drink costs $10 to $12