Freddy

For the eighth year, this felt right. Maybe it’s just numbers lining up, maybe it’s something else, but the idea was simple. Do something once. Do it properly. Never do it again. So we made a Joven. Carlos said it himself, this hasn’t been done before at Tequila Ocho, and it won’t be done again. That was enough for me. No need to overthink it. That’s what an anniversary is anyway. A marker in time. You either show up for it or you don’t. We choose to show up every time. Cus who knows - it could all be over next year. We sat down, a lot of samples in front of us, everyone tasting accordingly, no speeches, no bullshit. And somehow we all landed on the same one. No debate, no politics. Just instinct. Half and half. Reposado at 50%, blanco at 40%, same field, same place, done the right way like Ocho does. It lands at 48% and drinks like it means it. Full, textured, rich. Not trying to be elegant, just honest. It’s not the kind of tequila that you put on a shelf and leave it there like some stuffed deer. You open it, you pour it, and before you know it the bottle’s gone and the night went with it. As it should. Drink it. Don’t talk about it too much. Drink to the Camarena family, to the fearless Tomas Estes, And if there’s a splash left, drink to El Gallo. God knows we worked hard this year. Happy birthday @elgalloaltanero Thanks to @fanycamarena and @cccamarena_c for trusting us with something that won’t happen again.

COLOMBIA PARA EL MUNDO! Es difícil poner en una frase lo que es Alquímico como bar, es mucho más que eso. Cada vez que veo a Jean y a Pao me voy pensando lo mismo: ¿qué más podemos hacer? ¿Hasta dónde se puede llevar un bar? Ellos ponen la vara muy alta de lo que significa ser dueño y operador. ¿Qué tan grande puede ser el ecosistema que construyes alrededor de una idea? Más allá de la fiesta enorme con amigos cercanos, siempre regreso con ideas nuevas, con ganas de hacer más. Todos deberíamos estar haciendo más. Amar una cultura y un país, y dejar que brille para que otros se sumen, es algo increíblemente poderoso. Colombia… wow. Feliz cumpleaños, Alquímico.

Retratos de @freddyandreasson y @alejaguinaga para @elgalloaltanero 🐓 Hace 8 años estaba en Fitzroy trabajando y tomando café y Freddy me invitó a subir al tapanco del patio a probar cócteles del nuevo bar que estaban abriendo. El nuevo bar fue un éxito, después llegó Ale a ponerle toda la fuerza que solo ella sabe poner. Felicidades por 8 años de El Gallo Altanero, por muchos años más de agave y parranda. Asistente de fotografía: @marielr13

Finlandia, Colombia. La Finca de @alquimicocartagena . Te amo

JALISCO ESTÁ EN EL MAPA! Ser el #10 en el @50bestbars no cambia lo que somos. Pero sí nos recuerda que una barra pequeña, con velas, sudor, música y corazón, también puede hacer ruido en el mundo. Gracias a todos nuestros gallos, a nuestros clientes que han estado con nosotros a través de los años y a los nuevos que han regresado. Este premio es por todos ustedes, gallos!

Swans and Roosters makes good times. Thanks again. @elgalloaltanero 🤝@svanen.oslo

One December night at @svanen.oslo , Oslo. Thirty six years into being Swedish and somehow I land here for the first time, coming up from Mexico like I took the long way around on purpose. I’m supposed to understand the language, that’s the joke, but it all hits my ears like static. Still, there’s something in it that feels like home. Not mine exactly, but close enough to recognize. Svanen fixed that confusion fast. Old apothecary, protected by law, frozen in time whether anyone likes it or not. So they did the only thing, built a bar around it instead of tearing it apart. You walk in and nothing feels staged. Wood, glass, smells of another life still hanging around. It’s got that quiet weight to it, like the room remember. The team moves like they belong there. No performance, no fake warmth. Just people who’ve claimed a place and made it feel like theirs.That’s rarer than people admit. Downstairs there’s a tasting room built on leftovers from upstairs Trim, scraps, what’s left behind gets a second life and with quite the conceptual design and the complete opposit of upstairs. Oslo, of all places, has a cocktail scene that is quite impressive for a small city. Didn’t see that coming. The food might not warn you. Thanks for letting me make some drinks in your beautiful house. PS. If you don’t know about Scandinavian winters, you have been warned here, there is no light and days all blend into to one. I remembered like a shot to the head why I haven’t been back in this part of the world around winter time for 16 years. Although it’s pretty as hell at night.

For the 8th anniversary bottling we wanted the Gallos to be the first ones to try it, really try it, not just taste but live it for a day. So we went up to Los Altos, to the Camarenas, straight into the distillery. We did the whole tour, so everyone could actually understand what Tequila Ocho is about, how it’s made, why it matters. No shortcuts. Then at the end of the tasting we brought the bottle out, gave it to the whole crew. It got a bit emotional, no way around that. We read the back label out loud, the one I wrote, and for a second everything kind of clicked into place. Time, place, all of it, right there where it starts. We drank the joven all day. And then into the night. Somehow ended up with Pancho in a perfectly grungy cantina. Singing, dancing, drinking too much. One of those nights that just happens and you don’t question it. A celebration, but just for us. Big thank you to the Gallos for everything you put in. Les amo. @danntvr @alejaguinaga @ducksophie @_solopollo @iam_avroc @mario_casa8 @iliahb @yafrojas @minnjazminn @michelletagle23 @amairanimaya @eduardo_velez_22 @abraham__vh @danycandelero @cristycamachor

A look back at Ritual Series Vol. III, with guest judge Freddy Andreasson @freddyandreasson of El Gallo Altanero. For more, and to enter Vol. IV, visit Condesa Gin’s website. ~ Un vistazo a la competencia de coctelería Ritual Series Vol. III, con el juez invitado Freddy Andreasson, de El Gallo Altanero. Para saber más y participar en la Vol. IV, visita el sitio web de Condesa Gin.

@bar.fandango - a place built for the simpler things. The cocktails you actually drink on the regular, an ode to the ordinary and the craft of tending bar. All of it stripped down, raw, cut to the bone, the way we think it should be. It is what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. We’ve opened part one of two, so come by. Thanks to @thecocktailpanda , who worked our first shift with us. Not a guest shift, just a friend showing up and backing us, highly recommend it if you’re opening a bar. You’ll catch @whycantidoitright smiling here. That’s a good sign of a good bar, if you ask me. 📸@rubenrbanuelos

✨ An unforgettable night at Paradiso ✨ The tradition and cultural richness of Mexico took over our bar in a celebration that honored pre-Hispanic roots and the authenticity of agave. Our friends from Tlecān and El Gallo Altanero arrived with a unique selection of artisanal distillates and a cocktail style deeply connected to their territory, where every drink told a story of identity, heritage and craft. It was an honor to welcome their creativity, their technique and, above all, the warmth of their hospitality. They turned Paradiso into a vibrant fiesta filled with flavor, rhythm and the true Mexican spirit. Thank you for a night we will not forget. Mexico, what an honor to celebrate your culture from our home. 💫🇲🇽

Guadalajara is known for being Mexico’s cultural heartbeat. @mrlyan stopped by @elgalloaltanero to learn about the wide world of Agave drinks from owner @freddyandreasson . Check out @mrlyanstastetrips on ReachTV.