Jared Cannon

Aguas frescas, carnitas, tortas and other street food all inspired Jared Cannon during a recent visit to Mexico City.

The chef of Paco’s Tacos & Tequila in Charlotte, N.C., visited Mexico’s capital with restaurant owner Frank Scibelli, and came home ready to transform the restaurant’s menu.

He liked the aguas frescas so much he decided to develop a cocktail program around them.

“It’s like a blended, strained water,” he said. “They use burnt milk, corn, any kind of fruit you can think of.”

One of his favorites is tamarind, which is boiled in water. Then the water is strained, chilled and served cold straight or poured over ice.

“It’s kind of like an infused water,” he said.

Spicy mango and watermelon aguas frescas are “as average as peanut butter M&Ms are here,” he added.

Now he’s trying to decide what will work in the Charlotte market, where he’ll use the drinks as mixers at the bar, and perhaps design some cocktails around them.

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