If the “Willow” set from Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” was a bar, it’d be Brujas in Mexico City.
Gold-hued orbs float from the ceiling against a dark interior, where jars of herbs line the backlit walls, casting a faint, warm, honey-toned glow. The bar, staffed exclusively by women who consider themselves witches, feels both mystical and inviting
As if the witchy vibes couldn’t get more, well, witchy at Brujas — the Spanish word for “witches” — the hot spot in the city’s Roma neighborhood has just debuted a new namesake bar menu for the year. “Witch’s Quest” isn’t just a carousel of 10 cocktails; it’s a whirlwind tour of little-known history. The menu, which took six months of research and development to complete, is based on various witches from across the Americas. Margaret Jones, the first woman executed for witchcraft in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during New England’s 200-year witch hunt, opens the menu, which comes with a 20-page graphic novel.
“Everyone has a quest in life,” reads an intro to the menu. “This is the story of 10 women of different origin and moments in history who set out on a journey that changed their lives—a journey that has also inspired 10 modern women, who through skills and knowledge, have been able to translate their experience into beverages you can now enjoy.”
The herbal led-bar pays homage to a history of indigenous ingredients and techniques to create more than cocktails. For the women behind the bar, they’re putting together tonics and elixirs with the power to heal, protect and nourish the human spirit. Located in the former home of Panchita, Mexico's famous witch and healer, the bar is housed in the lower level of a building dubbed “Casa de Brujas,” house of witches. Its structure even resembles a pointed hat and its top windows give the appearance of eyes watching over all who enter.
Brujas bar interior (Photo courtesy of Brujas)The bar is managed by Daniela “Cherry” Leal who says each member of Brujas contributed to the menu. Witches from Venezuela, Ecuador and Mexico’s folktales are among the women represented. Their stories are told alongside the cocktail and mixologist they inspired. Leal’s contribution to the menu is a strawberry twist on the French 75 inspired by Marie Laveau, a voodoo herbalist and healer from New Orleans. Her rose-tinted beverage uses a gin base washed in strawberries and Greek yogurt, topped with Prosecco and sparkling water.
“This cocktail bar is based on Mexican herbalism,” reads a description of Brujas. “Tribute is paid to all grandmothers, great-grandmothers, mothers and traditional healers who in times past could cure everything from a broken heart to clinical illnesses with the help of herbs, flowers, bark, etc.”
The Devil's Bride cocktail (Photo courtesy of Brujas)Using their platform as a storytelling vehicle isn’t new to Brujas. “Witches Quest,” replaces “The Women in Action,” bar menu used to highlight and celebrate women across the world who have shaped modern society. Among their offerings included “Woman of the Century,” a gin-based drink inspired by Simone Veil, a lawyer, politician and Holocaust survivor who spear-headed the law that decriminalized abortion in France; “Amazona,” a tequila, yucca, honey soda, cinnamon and pepper drink based on Sonia Guajajara, activist and the first Minister of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil; and the “Vesper Dolores,” honoring Dolores Jiménez y Muro, a teacher, journalist and poet from the Mexican Revolutionary War.
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Explaining the popularity of the bar among locals and travelers, hotel executive Adriana Zermeno, a native to Mexico City, describes it as a “mystical hideaway where cocktails are inspired by magic and folklore and crafted with care by a talented team of women.” She calls it “the perfect spot for an unforgettable night in Mexico City.”
This witchy-themed menu is available now through 2025 with a bar warning that: “Once you take a sip, a spell is said to take over your mind, body and soul!”
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