Tito Puente - ‘Quatro’ (The Definitive Collection) + Spanish Harlem
Ingredients: 1 1/2 ounce Anejo tequila, 1 ounce sweet vermouth, 1 rinse of maraschino liqueur (like Luxardo), 1 dash Angostura bitters
Mixing Instructions: Rinse the inside of a chilled coupe glass with maraschino liqueur, discard excess. Mix tequila, vermouth and bitters in a cocktail shaker full of ice, shake, strain and serve.
Notes: It is seldom that an individual has such a profound influence over a specific genre of music that they should be called the “King” of said genre. Yet, the pronouncement of Tito Puente as “The King of Latin Music” draws nothing, but nods of approval from those familiar with his remarkable body of work. With a career spanning 50 years, the New York native drew from his Puerto Rican heritage and the liveliness of the Spanish Harlem community in which he was raised to compose and perform music that had a uniquely magnetic pulse - one which enabled his work to transcend both musical and social boundaries.
Any music lover owes it to themselves to spend just one weekend with the beautiful 5-LP box set (180g vinyl) which includes four of his landmark albums with original artwork + a bonus album containing hits like “Ran Kan Kan”. It is the type of music that caused every single one of my friends who stopped by last weekend while I was playing it to stop, bob their head a few times and say, “whoa…this is good!” Educate yourself, pay homage to a legend and do so with an aged tequila variation on the Manhattan in hand.
purchase: Amazon || B&N (cd set)
*for more info on the box set see here