La Banderita was the drink chosen to welcome us to Mexico by Melissa Aladro of the St. Regis Hotel. She invited us for  pre-dinner cocktails at our home away from home for the next four days.

We met in the King Cole bar within the St. Regis and one of the premier cocktail bars in the city. While we discussed local landmarks and opportunities to learn about Mexican history and culture she introduced us to The Little Flag known as La Banderita. It’s the local way to enjoy Tequila or Mezcal and so named for it’s green, white and red tri-color replication of the Mexican flag.

Three shot glasses, the first with fresh lime juice, the second with Union Mezcal, and the third with St. Regis sangrita were set before us. We then proceeded to toast our arrival in Mexico and sip from left to right, repeating the process until the three glasses were empty. Tempting as it was to have a second, it was time to depart for dinner.

You dear reader are fortunate however, as I was able to coax the recipe for their sangrita from the bartender. Well, not the exact recipe, but I got the ingredient list and a starting point. With  a little experimentation and the assistance of my fellow traveler’s taste buds, I believe we arrived at a near perfect duplicate. It is an extremely delicious style of bloody mary mix and with the recipe you may enjoy as many of these as you wish in the comfort of your own home.