At the AltaMed event last Friday night, I had the pleasure of meeting Milan from the great downtown LA club The Conga Room.He made me one of his signature cocktails, the Espino.

Made from pomegranate and lime juice, and a jalapeño reduction, it was a wonderful surprise. The pomegranate and lime balanced each other perfectly, and the jalapeño not only added a fruity richness, but also a comfortingly warm finish. I had the alcohol-free version, so I’m pretty sure it only gets better when served exactly the way Milan designed it.

Here’s the website: http://www.congaroom.com/