Chef Enrique Olvera Talks About Dobel Tequila, Tacos And U.S. Open Tennis

Chef Enrique Olvera is in love with tacos, tequila and tennis. The first entry on that list ought to be obvious: the tastemaker has been instrumental in elevating the street food into veritable art form. His two Michelin Star restaurant Pujol in Mexico City even features a taco omakase menu. But unless you were at the 2024 US Open you might not be aware of just how much Olvera adores agave spirit and racket sport.

Last week the chef partnered with Dobel, the “official tequila of the US Open,” to bring a few of his iconic dishes to the grounds of the annual tennis tournament in Flushing, Queens. At the swanky stadium-side terrace known as the Dobel Tequila Club, his beloved Suadero Tacos and Shrimp Aguachile were both on heavy serve. Despite all the hoopla surrounding the Honey Deuce, his fare was more often seen paired alongside the Ace Paloma—Dobel’s signature cocktail for the event.

In fact, sales of the drink were up 65% compared to last year’s US Open. And outside of the tournament, consumer interest in Palomas is on the rise year over year across the entirety of the country. It’s the sort of statistic that makes Olvera smile; it’s one of his favorite drinks and one which helped motivate him to partner with Dobel to begin with.

It also helps that Olvera is a massive fan of the Cristalino category, which Dobel invented all the way back in 2008. Today the aged-yet-clear-colored style of liquid is the fastest growing sub-genre of the spirit on shelves. It is expected to account for 7% of all US tequila sales by 2027...And it showed up in nearly 100% of the cocktails that Olvera enjoyed while watching tennis at the US Open.

Thankfully for us, he was willing to step away from all the action to share some thoughts on the category. Along with some expert advice on how to incorporate any type of tequila into your next meal. Score some points with the agave lovers in your life by following his advice below.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Tell us more about your love of tequila.

Enrique Olvera: “I love all agave spirits. I think tequila is a convivial drink; family oriented. At my house my mother drinks tequila all the time. So it has always been a big part of family gatherings.”

How do you incorporate it into your cooking?

EO: “Well, Salsa borracha is the classic way of incorporating tequila into a dish. But something that I love is the taste of the cooked agave piña. It tastes a little bit like tamarind. So we’ve used that before in some desserts. That being said, I think it’s better to have tequila on the side, not necessarily in the food. I personally like it before the meal—just neat with a little sangrita on the side. If you want to keep sipping it throughout the meal, it’s also so pleasant. I think there was a lot of talk back in the day about spirits having too much alcohol for pairing. Now I think we’ve progressed beyond that. It just requires a good quality tequila.”

What makes Dobel such a worthwhile example, in your opinion?

EO: “It’s a tequila that’s super smooth. It’s not something that’s strong and in your face. And I like it because it’s super versatile. You can enjoy it neat and pair it with meals and it will take a step back and let the food shine. Or you can mix it easily into cocktails.

And how exactly would you pair those cocktails with meals?

EO: “We do that at a lot of our restaurants. The cocktails that work best with meals tend to be on the simpler side; not as complex, with not as many ingredients—like a Paloma. A little bit more straightforward. But if you want to showcase more complexities, I believe they are better on their own, before or after the meal.”

The Mexico City cocktail scene is at the forefront of global innovation today. How has this creative landscape inspired some of your concepts there?

EO: “We have an agave-driven bar called Ticuchi that opened in 2019. It’s an agave-focused bar. We have a big selection of tequilas, mezcals, destilados de agaves, sotols. And we have a highly creative cocktail program. Wine culture in Mexico is also growing, but tequila has been part of our culture for so long, it’s only natural that tequila cocktails would be evolving as fine-dining evolves there. Mexico has so many influences and so many layers, I think that’s why it’s fascinating. It’s not just the diversity of the pre-Hispanic cultures but also the layers of Spanish and French history—especially in Mexico City.”

To the surprise of many American drinkers, Palomas are actually more popular in Mexico than Margaritas. Why do you suppose that’s the case?

EO: “I think for us Margaritas have more of just a day-drinking connotation. Whereas with Palomas you could have at lunch but even more so when you go to a restaurant in the evening or a nightclub. It’s also really great news that people [across the US] are becoming so familiar with Mexican food and drink. Because the more familiar you are with it, the more you crave it and the bigger the movement becomes.”