Do you love mixology? Meet Fabiola Padilla and get inspired by her story.

Published July 31st, 2021

Fabiola Padilla is a Mexican woman with a distinguished career in creative mixology, who has made interventions in restaurants in New York and Mexico, including Enrique Olvera’s COSME and the Diego bar at the Public Hotel on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, owned by the creator of Studio 54, Ian Schrager.

After almost a decade out of the country, Fabiola returned to San Miguel de Allende to start her personal project: BEKEB, a rooftop bar located in the boutique hotel Casa Hoyos. Her proposal consists of artisanal signature cocktails with a contemporary approach that rediscovers the nobility of spirits made from agave distillates, plants, flowers, and roots.

Who is Fabiola Padilla: what we talked about with her
Below, she tells us more about her career, this new project, and how she has managed to consolidate herself in this industry.

INSTYLE: How did your career begin?

FABIOLA PADILLA: After graduating in Mexico as a lawyer, I practiced for a while and didn’t feel it was my path, so I decided to move to New York (not an easy decision) to look for “something” that fulfilled me. I was initially interning at UN Women; however, it wasn’t what I thought it would be either, so I embarked on a new career in the bar industry, starting from scratch as a barback at a bar in the West Village.

I fell in love with the industry and grew and learned until I represented distilled spirits brands in the U.S. and managed major bars for 9 years. Finally, the opportunity arose to open my own cocktail bar in Mexico and I returned to San Miguel de Allende to open BEKEB.

IN: What do you like most about mixology?

FP: The art of creating cocktails is pure alchemy, being able to create an experience through a drink that combines all the senses. To make a “good” drink requires knowledge, but to make you feel it requires passion; seeing my clients through this experience is one of the things that most fulfills me as a mixologist.

IN: At what point did you decide to become an entrepreneur?

FP: Throughout my career as a mixologist in N.Y., I always had the motivation to open my own bar, even though I didn’t know where or when.

Meeting personalities in the industry and working side by side with them was definitely what gave me the impulse and I decided to start my own business. The opportunity arose with the invitation of a friend who was developing her hotel (Casa Hoyos) in San Miguel de Allende, where BEKEB is now located.

IN: What does Bekeb mean?

FP: It comes from the term -bek- which means “seed” in Tzotzil, the mother tongue of Mexico. We turned it into a palindrome for better branding. In a few words, it means birth, where we come from, the earth and its properties, our connection with it, and our root part that makes us not forget who we are.

IN: Why did you choose San Miguel de Allende to open Bekeb?

FP: I feel that San Miguel de Allende chose me, an opportunity presented itself, and even living in New York and with no plans to give up COSME, I decided to take the opportunity to spend a few days in SMA and evaluate the market, after the invitation to get to know the Casa Hoyos project.

To make a long story short, when I saw the terrace (still in gray construction) and the view at sunset, I had the feeling of certainty, so at that moment I made the decision to undertake a dream that is now a reality and is called BEKEB.

IN: What inspires you to create a drink?

FP: Going back to the meaning of BEKEB, I am inspired by the origins, plants, roots, seeds, endemic fruits of the region, agave distillates, speaking of ingredients.

On the other hand, inspiration comes from every trip I make and the people I meet. There are always things that inspire me, and just as an artist sees or feels something and wants to capture it on a canvas, I express it in the creation of a drink.

IN: If we go to BEKEB, what are the drinks that you must try?

FP: That’s a difficult question since every palate is different. As a result, I have created a menu with several flavor palettes so that our guests have several options according to their personal tastes. However, I must mention that one of my favorites is the “Green Sunset” based on Casa Dragones white tequila, sake, green prickly pear, and basil, a cocktail with green notes that has become one of my favorites.

Also notable for its originality in presentation and complexity of ingredients is the “Lavender Sour” with gin, American Cocchi, violet liqueur, aquafaba, and lavender flowers (which predominate in the region) a crystal glass in the shape of a bird. There is a situation that happens to me often, and it gives me a lot of satisfaction when they tell me they don’t like “mezcal” or cocktails in general, I always “challenge” them to try one of my drinks and if they don’t like it, the bill is on the house. To which I have always had favorable results and a client with a new experience in his life.

IN: How would you define your style when it comes to mixology?

FP: They say that the art of simplicity is the most difficult to achieve, and that’s what I look for in my drinks. That’s not to say that it’s not a sophisticated drink, just that for me, less is more.

IN: What would you say to women who want to go into mixology and become entrepreneurs?

FP: Do it! With the fear and insecurities that we all feel, you always have to take the step. You need foundations, study, and experience, which only work and time will give you. It is definitely not easy, but if it is your passion, do it without thinking about it. Every day there are more women in the industry-leading successful projects around the world.