8 Summer Cocktail Recipes From New York's Best Bartenders

Alejandro Ibanez - Macao Trading Co.

Since moving to New York from Columbia at 18 years old, Alejandro Ibanez has steadily made his way up the restaurant and cocktail industry. He started as a dishwasher uptown, but in a few short years, managed to get himself behind the bar at the renowned Employees Only and Macao Trading Co.

"The spring cocktail trend for me means bubbles, refreshing cocktails, fresh fruit which we have all season. In this cocktail, we use lemongrass. It's one of the Asian ingredients for Thai cuisine, and I made it into a syrup using cloves and cinnamon as well. I use the syrup along with tequila and lime juice, which go perfectly. We infuse chartreuse with jalapeno to give it a kick, add some fresh cut grapefruit, pour it and add a splash of soda. This is a Portuguese-Asian restaurant, so I believe lemongrass is huge in many of the dishes here. The ingredient is refreshing, and is like lemonade, so this will have a presence at other bars too."

Early Summer -1 3/4oz Tequila -1oz lime juice -3/4oz lemongrass syrup -1/4oz jalapeno chartreuse -3 triangles of fresh grapefruit -garnish with 2 dashes of peychauds bitters Macao Trading Co., 311 Church St, New York