CASA DRAGONES TASTING ROOM DESIGNED BY GLORIA CORTINA

Casa Dragones is pleased to return as an Official Partner to Art Basel Miami Beach for the third year, as part of our ongoing commitment to contemporary art, design, and Mexican craftsmanship.

This year, we enlisted interior design firm Gloria Cortina Studio to envision a 200-square-foot space with elements from our terroir in a design-forward, ecological plan, celebrating tradition and innovation. Inspired by the Casa Dragones Tasting Room in historic San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, the lounge embodies our commitment to Mexican craftsmanship and design. Cortina first worked with us to help create elements of that Tasting Room using obsidian, a naturally occurring volcanic stone sourced from our agave fields in Jalisco, Mexico. Cortina is an expert on the material and was enlisted to expand on its use.

Cortina took a stylish new approach to designing the Tasting Room at Art Basel Miami Beach creating a modern Art Deco-inspired take on traditional Mesoamerican and Mexican motifs. A circular theme appears throughout the space, on the ceiling, walls, and floor, subtly echoing Aztec mythological spaces of the heavens, earth, and underworld. Rather than constructing one large bar, Cortina utilizes obsidian to construct three individual bars arranged in a circle, each in a different geometric shape inspired by natural basalt formations in the volcanic fields. Other elements include a cascading decorative chandelier crafted with naturally formed shards of obsidian, and elegant sconce lighting inspired by Casa Dragones Joven’s signature blue boxes and crystal bottles. A chic patterned wallpaper takes its design from an eagle feather, a traditional Mexican symbol since the Aztecs.

Elements of the design illustrate an ethos shared by both Cortina and Casa Dragones. Cortina explains it as “taking deeply rooted cultural traditions and beliefs to create something completely contemporary and modern. We appreciate materiality and understand the physical and emotional response to our surroundings. We both build on tradition and ask, ‘what is next’?”

We will also continue the “Art-Tenders” series, appearing daily 4-6pm on VIP days and 4- 5:30pm on the public days at Casa Dragones’ pop-up Tasting Room. Each day, “Art-Tenders” — guest bartenders that include a roster of artists and art world luminaries — will act as guest mixologists and craft original cocktails inspired by their practice. Click here to learn more about the artists and their work.

Casa Dragones Tasting Room in the Art Basel Miami Beach Collectors Lounge will also debut a number of special product offerings and limited editions. It will preview a new Artist Edition by Petrit Halilaj, a Kosovar contemporary artist, the fourth artist edition Casa Dragones has produced, following previous collaborations with artists Gabriel Orozco, Danh Vo, and Pedro Reyes. A limited-edition gold flask in collaboration with Gabriel Orozco will also be unveiled and pre-sold in advance of its January public release.

We invite you to enjoy our sipping tequilas at Art Basel Miami Beach 2023.