0.8 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 19 g · about 131 kcal from the alcohol alone
IN THE GLASS
METHYL ANTHRANILATE
FROM TEQUILA AGAVE · the grape candy note
Formula
C₈H₉NO₂
Mass
151.16 g/mol
IUPAC
methyl 2-aminobenzoate
The grape-candy / Welch's-grape-juice aroma. Concord grapes carry it in concentrations no European wine grape (Vitis vinifera) approaches; American Vitis labrusca grapes, native to the northeastern US, hold methyl anthranilate as a signature. The "foxy" note in North American grape juice and artificial grape candy both come from the same molecule. Also used as the standard bird repellent on commercial fruit crops; birds find it intolerable.
The chili pepper alkaloid. Binds TRPV1 (the same receptor that fires for actual heat), which is why the body sweats from a spicy drink even when the liquid is cold. Mango-chili cocktails, chili-rimmed mezcal, and some bitter aperitifs lean on it. Mammals respond; birds don't have the receptor, which is how peppers evolved to be dispersed by birds while being unappealing to mammals that would crunch the seeds.
Lemon's defining note: technically a mix of two geometric isomers (geranial and neral) that read as the same aroma to the nose. Lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and Indian chai all carry it. In cocktails it's what a lemon twist contributes that lemon juice can't: the volatile expressed from the oil glands, not the acid from the pulp.
Tequila, lime, agave, muddled jalapeño and cilantro. Capsaicin binds TRPV1 receptors for heat, and the aldehydes of cilantro leaf ((E)-2-decenal, decanal) reads as the 'fresh' counterpoint that makes the drink coherent. A Mexican-American craft pour.
PROVENANCE
The Picante (Spanish for 'spicy') is Soho House's house drink: a cucumber-and-hot-sauce Margarita Picante first poured at Soho Beach House Miami around 2011 was pared down in 2012 by bar manager Chris Ojeda at Soho House West Hollywood to tequila, lime, agave, chili and cilantro. The jalapeño-and-cilantro pairing is borrowed directly from the Mexican kitchen: guacamole's two structural seasonings transposed onto a tequila sour.
