Barro Negro’s CDMX Espresso Martini: A Tequila-Driven Twist

Photo Credit: Michael Papazissis

Barro Negro isn’t just Athens’ first tequila and mezcal bar — it’s a love letter to Mexico, written in agave. Born from the shared obsession of friends George Kavaklis and Stelios Papadopoulos, the bar began as a passion project and quickly became one of the city’s most compelling hospitality stories. Both had spent years behind the bar, studying agave spirits with the kind of intensity usually reserved for scholars, and traveling through Oaxaca, Jalisco, and beyond to understand the category at its source. That energy shows.

Since opening in 2019, Barro Negro has been on a steady global rise, earning a place on the World’s 50 Best Bars list for five consecutive years and landing at No. 62 in 2025. Its shelves read like an agave encyclopedia, and the cocktail program is a masterclass in technique, creativity, and cultural respect — equal parts playful and deeply informed. The team is young, ambitious, and wildly talented, bringing the pulse of modern Mexico straight into central Athens with an authority that feels both joyful and earned.

Today, their focus stretches far beyond the bar itself. Academia de Barro Negro, their educational initiative, has become one of Europe’s most exciting agave-driven learning platforms. Its standout moment: the team’s first official educational journey to Mexico in January 2025, a fully immersive experience in production, terroir, tradition, and the human stories behind the spirit.

Barro Negro isn’t just serving great drinks — it’s shaping the way Europe understands agave culture. And they’re only getting started.

Photo Credit: Michael Papazissis
This week, we’ve chosen to highlight this stellar bar and its CDMX Espresso Martini. This sassy libation has had quite the identity crisis — adored by guests, side-eyed by bartenders — so the venue decided it was time for a reinvention. Enter their Nitro Espresso Martini on tap, built on a tequila base. It pours impossibly smooth, all creamy, mint-meets-chocolate indulgence in a glass. A guilty pleasure, upgraded.

Of the drink, Papadopoulos says, “The idea behind the cocktail is to elevate the potential of agave spirits — and tequila specifically — in mixability. We want to show that this category can deliver truly exceptional, high-quality results when treated with the same precision and technique as any classic spirit. The CDMX Espresso Martini is built on 2025-forward mixology techniques, making it a super modern interpretation of a global classic. This reflects exactly what Barro Negro is all about: embracing contemporary craft, pushing boundaries, and creating awareness around how agave spirits can shine in innovative ways.”

Below, this is how to make our latest guilty pleasure.

HOW TO MAKE THE CDMX ESPRESSO MARTINI

Photo Credit: Michael Papazissis
Recipe:
35ml Tequila Blanco Infused w/ Cocoa Nibs & Vanilla
80ml Single Origin Cold Brew
5ml Fernet Branca
4ml O.f Mint Distillate
10gr Brown Sugar

Method: Batch & Dissolve sugar, Transfer to Cream Siphon and charge n2o once. Rest in the fridge for Service
Garnish: None
Glass: Nick n Nora
Other Comments: Vanilla/Cocoa Tequila (60gr Cocoa, 2.5g Vanilla Bean / lt, Sous Vide 60c/2hrs)
Mint Distillate (Blend Infuse Mint leaves w/ Vodka 80gr/lt, Redistill to 65%)Photo Credit:Michael Papazissis