Each of Suyo’s cocktails is based around a geographical location and is tied to a story.

Cacti tells the tale of the flowering succulents of Ica, a coastal desert in Peru. The flowers are pollinated by a specific type of bee that hibernates for an extended period as the flowers only bloom for a brief period of the season. The cocktail is an ode to the poetic nature of the flora and fauna waiting for one another. Subsequently, the bartenders age the entire cocktail in beeswax so it, too, “hibernates,” taking influence from the bees.

Note that this is a big batch cocktail that requires six weeks of aging time.

Batch ingredients:

50 g beeswax (available from Main Street Honey Shoppe)

12 oz Volcan reposado tequila

6 oz Sotol Ono (spirit made from the sotol plant)

3 oz Marolo Grappa

4 oz chamomile-infused Strega (see note)

12 oz cups verjus blanc

4 oz bee pollen syrup (see note)

5 tsp bay leaf tincture (available online or at natural health stores)

Method:

Gently melt the beeswax in a disposable container (it will ruin your pans so don’t use anything you’re fond of). Carefully pour the liquid wax into a clean glass 1.5 litre bottle or jar, and while it is still liquid, rotate the bottle, coating the inside with a layer of beeswax as it solidifies. Allow it to cool fully before filling the bottle with your batched cocktail and tucking away until it’s ready. Be sure to date your bottle so you know when it’s ready. Makes about 5 cups.

Mix all remaining ingredients together and pour into the prepared bottle or jar. Allow it to rest and age in the beeswax for six weeks.

To serve:

4 oz batched Cacti cocktail

2 oz soda water

Grapefruit peel

Optional garnish: Edible flowers

Pour batched Cacti cocktail into a rocks (or similar) glass over ice, and top with soda. Express the oils of the grapefuit peel over top and discard the peel. If you like, garnish with edible flowers. Serves 1.

Notes:

To prepare chamomile-infused Strega: Steep 10 g dried chamomile flowers in 3 cups or one bottle of Strega for 60 minutes. Fine strain, bottle and reserve in the fridge indefinitely.

To prepare bee pollen syrup: Steep 40 g bee pollen in 1 L (4 cups) boiling water for 20 minutes. Stir vigorously and strain out using a paper coffee strainer. Weigh the remaining pollen water and add an equal amount by weight of granulated sugar. Stir to dissolve. Once all sugar is completely dissolved, bottle and reserve in the fridge for up to two weeks.

—Recipe courtesy of Suyo Modern Peruvian