Jungle Bartending with Liz Furlong

Jungle Bartending takes its inspiration from the curanderos, the healers who use local herbs from the forest for their medicine. Liz has the perfect cure for what ails us. Bottoms up!

Hi Liz, can you give me a brief recap of your bar career before Costa Rica?

I’m originally from Montréal. I went to New York, where I spent some years—I would say that's really where I got into the world of mixology, getting to see all the top bars and really growing my passion for creating cocktails. That is actually where my job opportunity in Costa Rica arose, when I was managing a bar in Brooklyn, New York. It used to be called the King & Grove Hotel. Three bars, pool bar, rooftop bar. Then someone asked me: “Hey, I really like what you are doing here, do you think you could do something like this at our hotel in Costa Rica?” 

Just like that? Wow!

Yeah. So it was interesting and, of course, I said yes, because it was November in New York and you just want to get out of the winter.

You and Megs Miller started the bar. How did that partnership come about?

We did a tequila tour together in Mexico. She is a bartender and a global brand ambassador for Altos tequila. So we met up in a tequila field and I told her I had this beautiful space and that I was thinking of opening a mezcal bar because I love agave spirits. And that this sounded like a great location for it. She got really excited and went: “I’m in, let's do this”. She's probably the biggest Agave spirits nerd that I know. She's all about it.

So picking up and going was not a problem for either one of you.

Well, I’ve been in Costa Rica for 10 years now. So it's definitely my home, and Megs is based out of Mexico. She comes quite often, it’s not very far.

Your bar is called Cata bar, which means tasting. Why the name?

We have an agave tasting room. We are on the beach but we have a closed off section with air conditioning—we have all the brands for you to look through and sample at an appropriate temperature for drinking, because it does get quite hot. We have some nice bottles and we don’t want to necessarily add ice for the tasting. So the idea behind it was basically like “hunting” for these interesting spirits and then tasting them. We have a big cocktail menu as well. But I think that, at the end of the day, we wanted to concentrate a little bit more on education.

You specialize in agave-based spirits and you taste scores of them. What should we look for in a good Agave spirit? 

That's a great question. The criteria to go into our cava are: nothing with additives, nothing with caramel colorings, nothing with any vanilla flavors or anything like that. We're looking to purchase from people from their own country. So whether they are from Mexico or other spirits from Ecuador or Venezuela, we want to source them directly.

Regarding the additives, do brands have to declare if there are any?

No, they don’t have to. So it makes it harder and it takes a little bit of investigation. The “100 % Agave” designation still allows for some additives so that’s an important detail.

You're known for jungle bartending. What do you mean by that?

Well, coming from New York, I was really spoiled. I had every single bottle I wanted on my back bar. WhenI got to Costa Rica (I was a real snob), I couldn’t believe that they didn’t have Chartreuse here! They didn’t have whatever bottle I was craving to make the cocktail I wanted. That was my attitude when I first got here. Then, I started looking around this property where I'm working. There are fresh limes growing. I have lime leaves. I have beautiful herbs, I have hibiscus flowers, passion fruit flowers… What was I complaining about? I have so many fun things to work with. And it became my signature: taking the classics and turning them into my own tropical version. I think that's really important because we don't need to be using cranberry juice if we have other juices with a similar flavor profile.

And it makes your bar unique as well, because your ingredients are so local. So who are your foraging mentors?

More than a mentor, chef Gilberto Briceño is a real inspiration to me. And one place where I learned an amazing amount of things was on my visits to indigenous communities. These local people have been sourcing the jungle for food and medicine for a really long time.

That ties into my next question about local herbs and medicines. Can you tell me more about that?

Absolutely. My favorite places are the markets and medicine shops. They are often women, so I feel an affinity with them; It’s easy just to chat with them. And that's one of the great ways that I really dig in and learn about which plants you can use and which you cannot. It’s literally a jungle out there—there are toxic plants… you can’t just eat whatever you find. It’s beautiful but you really need to investigate. Because of biodiversity, there are many lookalike plants that might seem edible but are actually toxic. 

So you have local people take you around and help you.

Yeah, exactly. Lots of investigation, lots of guidebooks. I think that's really important to get yourself oriented before you start preparing things. 

How has the Costa Rica bar scene changed since you've been there?

It has grown so much. And I'm really proud to say that. I think the pandemic set us back a step, but I think we are back at it.

A lot of Americans went to Costa Rica during the pandemic.

We have had a population increase, both in San Jose and on Tamarindo beach. Something interesting is happening here. We are on the 50 Best Discovery list now and, hopefully, that will get us our first 50 Best in the country soon.

Amazing. Do you have a new project coming? Can you give us a hint?

Bar Curandero is the new bar we will open in San José. Curandero means healer and it's where I get my ideas for ingredients. I experiment a lot with herbs and potions and it will have that theme, in a fun way. It will be inspired from all over the world. 

Do you have any projects involving the local community and giving back?

So far, I have organized community beach cleanups but I plan to do a lot more, I have a project to bring bartenders together so that they can get training. Once a month I offer free training with emphasis on the local people. I always try to hire locals because I think it's just the right thing to do. It just doesn’t make sense to bring someone down from other places when we have enthusiastic local people. They are full of passion, they need a job and just lack the skills, It also helps us integrate in the community and we can support each other.

What advice can you give someone the first time they come to Costa Rica? 

I always say that you should also check out the national parks, not just the beaches. Take the time and venture out, it is amazing. The ticket you purchase helps conserve the land so it can stay protected. 

And what would you like people to have gotten out of their time spent at Cata bar?

A little Agave knowledge definitely, we're really trying to focus on getting people to know that there are agave spirits that are not just from Mexico; there are products from Peru, Venezuela and Ecuador... Letting them know that these products exist. There are reasons why we might not have it available, but it’s not because they are not amazing products.

When is the rainy season in Costa Rica?

August to October would be the rainiest; in the middle of October there is heavy rainfall but it usually starts at noon. It's beautiful and green and there's no tourists. It’s a really nice time to come actually.

Thanks so much Liz, I can’t wait to visit!

Where you can find Liz and her projects

Cata Agave Bar: @cataagavebar

Bar Curandero: @barcurandero

Bebedero: @bebederocr

Liz Furlong: @misslizfurlong

Megs Miller: @megsmiller