On tap for the holidays: A blend of multicultural drink traditions and fond memories
The holiday season gives us a chance to put our own spin on traditions.
Whether you have a go-to family movie, or you're putting an international touch on your holiday feast, the drink menu should be no exception.
For this year's All Things Considered holiday cocktail interview, we visited a bar that brings its owners' personal stories to life.
Tucked away in an alley in Washington's H Street corridor, Providencia is the brainchild of several folks behind other popular restaurants in the District. The owners all have different backgrounds — ties to Taiwan, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador — and they've taken aspects of all of them to create a deeply personal feel and menu.
"South American culture in general and Central America have a ton of Asian influence through trade, slavery and immigration … the presence of shared cultures, ingredients exists between the two," says chef Erik Bruner-Yang, who opened the bar with Paola Velez, and bartenders Daniel Gonzalez and Pedro Tobar.
The menu is a mix of Asian and Latin American flavors, making every drink a unique experience.
"You can use the same five things, but tell five different stories because there are so many shared things between all the cultures," Bruner-Yang says.
When we visited Providencia, Tobar and Gonzalez were behind the bar to mix some of their favorite drinks of the season.
Café de olla
"One of my favorite ones is the café de olla, because it holds a very dear memory with my grandma," Tobar says.
Getting its name from a traditional Mexican spiced-coffee, the drink is a dark, molasses-colored concoction topped with a thick layer of foam. It's made up of Salvadoran rum, horchata, cinnamon, coffee liqueur and instant café de olla, garnished with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Tobar says the cocktail was inspired by his memories of drinking coffee with his grandma.
"Every time I would drink coffee, she would give me a pastry. And the cocktail itself, it tastes just like you dipped a pastry in the coffee."
The drink is served in a coupe glass, with a wrapped candy attached to the rim with a tiny clothespin.
Tres tristes tigres
Named after a Spanish tongue twister, this drink embodies the three countries that inspire a lot of Providencia's menu: building on a rum base, it combines a Dominican cocktail of milk and citrus, a Salvadoran cocktail made with barley and strawberry, and Taiwanese barley tea.
This creamy, pink drink is served over ice, garnished with dried flowers.
Atole en invierno
The last drink we tried really embodies the holiday spirit. It's based on atole, a popular Latin American beverage.
Providencia's version is made with a cashew base and served hot, blended with flavors like cardamom, cinnamon and vanilla.
"Coming from a country that's kind of like summer every day … we are used to drinking or sweating while we eat or drink back home," Tobar says with a chuckle.
"No matter how hot it is, mom or grandma will make the hottest beverage or food anyway."
The warm spice blend is perfect for a holiday drink, Tobar says.
But if you ask Velez and the crew at Providencia, bringing their personal stories and identities to their menu works well any time of year.
"We're immigrants or children of immigrants … so when you have the opportunity to create derivatives of things that will resonate with people that look like you, grew up like you, or are like you — it kind of brings a sense of fulfillment."
