20 Sep Where You Should Be Drinking: Hope + Anchor in El Paso + the Paloma Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe

Where You Should Be Drinking: Hope + Anchor in El Paso

A lot of people travel to DC for work. We know because we once took a Friday afternoon flight out of DC. A lot of people also travel to places like New York or Seattle. And then there’s me. I have found myself on two long work trips to…wait for it…yep you guessed it: El Paso!

While logging many Marriot Points in the border town of El Paso is not the usual work trip destination, it does indeed have its charm. It’s big enough to have hoped-for-yuppie amenities such as a Sprouts, trendy cafes, and a shopping center designed out of old shipping containers. And it’s small enough that parking is abundant and the great rural open roads are within site. And bonus, you can literally walk right into Mexico for a drink.

During this trip, I forgot my passport though and solo Juarez jaunts aren’t exactly recommended; so drinking in El Paso proper it was!

The instructor at the yoga studio I visited (<– see yoga!..which was next to a juice shop) recommended Hope + Anchor. I knew instantly by it’s _____ +/& ______ name that I was its target demographic. And, lo and behold, I did in fact love it.

The patio was large and delightfully southwest. The service was slightly more low key than one wants at the end of a long work day, but for all the other Sunday before Labor Day imbibers, the pace seemed just fine. The bar is next door to a trendy little food joint that has service to it.

What I Ordered: 

• Paloma Old Fashioned: Grapefruit-infused Hornitos tequila, grapefruit bitters, agave syrup, king’s cube of ice

What I Thought

At my first sip, I immediately wished I had gone with their $6 Sunday special: Build your own Bloody Mary + grilled cheese. But I swallowed my regret and kept sipping. We’re just such suckers for interesting old fashioned variants that I had to try this one.  The drink got much better over time. And to the drink’s credit I left thinking the concept was brilliant and wanted to perfect it. This drink tastes like a mid-summer late afternoon drink by the pool. It’s the classy way to have a shot of tequila without actually doing shots. And we especially like our doctoring of it.

Paloma Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 slices grapefruit
• 1.5-2tsp sugar
• 3-4 dashes of grapefruit bitters
• 2 oz reposado tequila

Instructions

• Muddle grapefruit slices, sugar, and bitters in the bottom of an old fashioned glass
• Add in tequila; stir to mix.
• Add ice.
• Garnish with mint leaf (optional)