At the Rosewood Mayakoba, the signature cocktail is one of a kind

Welcome to Clubhouse Eats, where we celebrate the game’s most delectable food and drink. Hope you brought your appetite.

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At this month’s inaugural Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, the world’s best female players will have the chance to compete on longtime men’s Tour course El Camaleón.

The tournament marks the first time the LPGA will tee it up in Mexico since the 2017 Lorena Ochoa Match Play was held at the Club de Golf Mexico in Mexico City.

The Mayakoba region is surrounded by four luxury hotels, all of which offer a number of enticing R&R options in between rounds, from scuba
diving, snorkeling and boating to exploring the area’s thousands of cenotes, or natural sinkholes. (One to avoid, however: the famous cenote that resides on El Camaleón’s 7th fairway.)

And to cap a day’s activities at Mayakoba, there’s no better place to unwind than the Rosewood Mayakoba’s Zapote Bar, an airy, tropical enclave that’s been rated among the best bars in the world. Zapote serves up a number of Yucatán-inspired craft cocktails, but its signature drink is the Mayayo, an imaginative take on the Mexican gimlet.

“It’s a little spicy from the habanero chili and sweet from the cordial,” says Rosewood Mayakoba bar manager Ricardo Bobadilla. “You can really taste the herbs from the jungle.”

Travel

The inclusion of Gin Katún is what Bobadilla says really sets the drink apart. The spirit is sourced from the Yucatán and incorporates 17 botanical ingredients, with flavors including chili peppers, pepper, cardamom and fresh fruits. The gin is then combined with a house-made cordial that includes lime, lemon leaves, guava and sour orange — ingredients acquired from the resort’s on-site garden — to create a one-of-a-kind cocktail that is both fruity and floral.

The exercise of combining these flavors is literally part of the fun. The Mayayo is offered as a welcome amenity for every arriving guest at the
Rosewood and is made with a “throwing” technique, an entertaining spectacle that involves long pours of shaken liquid from one glass to another from various heights.

Guests are so enthralled with the Mayayo that it has become a primary draw for travelers from around the globe. Can Bobadilla explain the cocktail’s intoxicating allure?

“It’s simple,” he says. “The Mayayo tastes like the Yucatán, like Mexico.”

How to make a Mayayo cocktail

-1.5 oz Gin Katún
-1 oz homemade garden cordial (reduction of herbs, sugar and citrus)
-Sour orange zest and peel for garnish

Use a shaker to vigorously combine all ingredients with ice for 3 to 5 minutes until properly mixed and chilled.

Strain into a chilled Nick and Nora glass with one ice cube. Lightly twist the sour orange peel around the rim to release its scent, then gently drop the peel into the cocktail.