There’s a bag of booze on the bar at Bazaar Meat. Not a plastic bag. Not a paper bag wrapped around some tallboy or 40-ounce bottle in an attempt at hipster irony. This bag is supple and rustic, made of leather and imported from Spain. Some might call it a canteen or a wineskin, but in Spanish it’s a bota, and at Bazaar Meat this super-sized 4-liter container is dubbed the botarón.
It isn’t just for decor. Lined with juniper oil and resin, it contains a cocktail-in-progress that will spend about two weeks mellowing inside the bag before emerging ready to pour as the Leatherette.
The ingredients are simple: equal parts Old Overholt Rye, Yzaguirre Rojo Vermouth, Lepanto Brandy and Emilio Lustau Sherry. “If you mixed it without the leather, it would still be a great cocktail, but it would be a really intense cocktail,” says bar manager Hien Truong. The time inside the botarón balances and softens the edges until you have an easy sipper that tastes of oak and molasses with the dryness of velvety leather throughout.
Chilled and served over a single 2-inch ice cube with lavender bitters and a sprig of the plant, the Leatherette pairs well with the restaurant’s richly marbled ribeye steaks. But no matter what you’re ordering, consider this crucial information: Drinking a cocktail that’s aged in leather just feels cool. Bazaar Meat by José Andrés at SLS, 702-761-7610; Sunday-Thursday 5:30-10 p.m., Friday & Saturday, 5:30-11 p.m.