This tool is the secret to making a perfect tequila cocktail
Make Maestro Dobel’s Peppered Berry Margarita, the ideal tequila cocktail for summer days, with a molcajete and tejolote (mortar and pestle) designed by architects Pedro y Juana

Tequila aficionados will know that for a truly delicious cocktail, there are only a few brands that fit the bill, and if you want to get the most out of the ingredients you are pairing it with, well then you’d best be using a molcajete and tejolote, or mortar and pestle.
Lucky then, that one of the most respected names in the industry, Maestro Dobel, has launched a limited-edition tejolote set just in time for tequila season.
The molcajete and tejolote
The brand commissioned the burgeoning architecture studio Pedro y Juana, winner of the 2019 MoMA and MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program, to reimagine this pair of traditional Mexican instruments. The resulting design is a ‘small sculpture’ that is an homage to ancient Mexican architecture and tequila culture. Its circular, pyramid shape visually echoes the archaeological site in Jalisco known as Los Guachimontones.
Jalisco is also the hometown of Maestro Dobel and the birthplace of tequila itself, where 200,000 years ago Tequila Volcano erupted and laid the ground for the growth of blue agave. The Maestro Dobel tejolote is made from basalt (volcanic rock) sourced from the region of the volcano and crafted by renowned local stonemason Juan Fraga.
Only 30 editions of this particular design exist, so few people will get to try it out. Still, we recommend investing in your choice of molcajete and tejolote as a handy piece of kit for summer gatherings, for use in preparing the ingredients for sweet cocktails, like the margarita recipe below, as well as savoury dips.
Maestro Dobel’s Peppered Berry Margarita
Ingredients:
1 strawberry
2 blackberries
1 whole lime
½ tsp pink peppercorns
5 mint leaves
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tsp pomegranate molasses
50ml Maestro Dobel Humito
ice
coupette (half-rimmed with pink Himalayan salt)
Method:
- Crush fresh berries and lime in base of molcajete, then crush the peppercorns.
- Gently press mint leaves into the mixture and then add the agave nectar and pomegranate molasses
- Empty the contents into a cocktail shaker.
- Add the tequila to the shaker and fill up with ice.
- Shake hard and fine strain into a coupette glass.
- Garnish with pomegranate pods and mint sprig.
INFORMATION
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Mary Cleary is a writer based in London and New York. Previously beauty & grooming editor at Wallpaper*, she is now a contributing editor, alongside writing for various publications on all aspects of culture.
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