GETAWAYS • The Hamptons
For the last five years since Rita Cantina debuted in a quiet, residential pocket of Springs, the Mexican cantina has been shaking up the best, most thoughtful, and sophisticated cocktails anywhere out east — on par, in my opinion, with the best cocktail bars in Manhattan.
Last year, bar director and co-owner Adam Miller (who runs the restaurant alongside his father, chef Eric Miller) introduced a transparent clarified coconut milk cocktail that blew me away. The Piña Coco Margarita is made with clarified coconut milk, toasted coconut–infused blanco tequila, pineapple juice, and lime. It’s lush, silky, and totally transparent.
This summer, Adam — who worked under pros like Jim Kearns (Slowly Shirley) and milk punch expert Eamon Rockey (Betony) — added two standout new cocktails. One is a playful homage to the guava cheese roll at Mexico City’s famed Panadería Rosetta. Adam infuses tequila with housemade puff pastry, then blends it with clarified guava syrup, lime juice, milk, and cream cheese. After an overnight steep, it’s strained until crystal clear, and served over pellet ice with a salted guava chip garnish. “It’s what would happen if a guava roll and a margarita got into some trouble,” he says. The result is creamy, tropical tipple with just a touch of funk — it’s absolutely irresistible. (I had two, and took a giant pre-batched bottle home for later.)
The other is an ultra-carbonated Paloma, an intensely bubbly cocktail made from a house-made Ruby Red grapefruit soda, grapefruit extract, and grapefruit liqueur. Adam has also amassed a deep collection of over 250 artisanal agave spirits, which taste especially great on the sandy outdoor patio lined with picnic tables — my favorite spot to sit. –Kat Odell
→ Rita Cantina (East Hampton) • 28 Maidstone Park Rd • Wed, Thu & Sun 4-9p, Fri-Sat 4-10p • Reserve.