People

Cocktail Queen

Karen Reina lives a fast-paced life devoted to earning her nursing credentials, shooting zingers at goalies in her soccer league and park-hopping with her French bulldog appropriately named Negroni.
Text by Rony Mo. Photos by Ximena Etchart | May 25, 2018 | People

Love Is Blind, Passion Restaurant Group’s most ambitious venture to date, is the third in a series of successes including Dolores But You Can Call Me Lolita and Crazy About You. Now the youngest wants to step out of the shadow of its older siblings and make a name for herself, which takes talent. In Karen, they found it in droves. She has been shaking cocktails that are strong enough for a man, but aesthetically balanced for a woman for half a decade at their other locations. If you’re grinding 80-hour workweeks, apple martinis and pinky cosmos aren’t going to cut it, but you don’t want to send the wrong message ordering back-to-back Long Islands, either. So the Cali-born bartender tinkered and toiled until she found a drink that appeared dainty, yet dissolved the stresses of the day. More than worthy of its title, the Love Is Blind Martini is comprised of 4 individual shots topped with a floater. Each piece alone is rather unassuming, but together they speak volumes for lust, passion, humor, craziness and happiness.

Love Is Blind Martini
1 oz. Ketel One Citroen Vodka Lemon Drop
1 oz. Maraschino Cherry-Infused Cîroc Red Berry Vodka
1 oz. Viniq Shimmery Liqueur
1 oz. Grey Goose La Poire Vodka
1 oz. Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial Champagne
Top off with a Sweet Cherry