When Masa y Agave cocktail director John McCarthy moved to NYC, his only restaurant experience was as a line cook. No one would hire him. “I was asked by one chef, ‘Did you just graduate from culinary school? Do you speak Spanish?’, and when I answered ‘no’ to both of these questions he laughed, turned around and walked away,” McCarthy remembers. “Over his shoulder he said, ‘good luck kid’ — so I got a job as a bar back.” Since then he’s worked his way up to bartending roles at the likes of Allen & Delancey, Bette, Greenwich Project, and Highlands, a Scottish gastropub in the West Village. Nowadays he can be found further south at Masa y Agave, the subterranean agave bar to Rosa Mexicano’s first downtown location. Here, the Atlanta native discusses the cocktail that speaks his name, his favorite Mexico destination, and where he can be found afterhours.
BoozeMenus: What's something you learned about the Mexican culture when creating the drinks at Masa y Agave?
John McCarthy: It's all about fresh ingredients.
BM: Which cocktail on the menu do you identify with the most?
JM: Raicilla is an agave spirit new to the U.S. I make a variation of a blanco negroni with it, and it's very exciting.
BM: What do you wish patrons ordered more?
JM: The Raicilla Negroni Blanco, for that very reason.
BM: What cocktails are you working on developing now?
JM: Just this week we’ve been working on a reposado tequila Manhattan variation.
BM: Where's your favorite place to travel to in Mexico?
JM: Oaxaca, definitely!
BM: What's a typical day look like for you when you're not working?
JM: I'm usually in the kitchen cooking.
BM: Where can you be found post-shift?
JM: Lately if I go out for a drink, I go see my friends at Holiday Cocktail Lounge.
BM: Who is your favorite drinking partner in crime?
JM: My fiancée, Carey Jones, who is a food, travel, and spirits writer. We have a weekly column for foodandwine.com called Liquor Cabinet Roulette.
BM: What's your cocktail go-to of the season?
JM: We're making punch!
BM: When was the last time you were really stunned by a drinking or dining experience?
JM: We ate at a family-owned farm and restaurant in Cuba this past August.
By Nicole Schnitzler
(Photos from left: Mango-Chile Margarita by Katie Burton; Assortment of Margaritas & Salts by Katie Burton; John McCarthy by Robyn Lee)