What if I were to tell you that one freewheeling, devil-may-care London bartender had invented a cocktail dedicated to the humble pork scratching? The obvious reaction would be to find him and immediately profess our undying love, right?

Well, get your stalking boots on because that is exactly what Nico Peratinos, mastermind mixologist at Spanish restaurant Aqua Nueva, has done.

Inspired by the ancestral tradition of La Matanza – translated as “the slaughter” in Spanish – and riffing on the classic Pisco Sour, Peratinos has elevated a simple, fatty snack to culinary magnum opus, releasing it from its pub-and-ale associations by combining a mosaic of textures and flavours to create a gob-smacking spectacle of a cocktail.

“We built the whole drink around pork,” says Peratinos. “Pork scratchings, or chicharones as they’re called in Spain, combined with sugar, salt and pepper, create an explosion of flavours on the palate; salty, sweet and savoury – and then you get fruity notes from the figs and a hit of citrus from the lime. Figs beautifully complement pork. Here, the fig liqueur adds a deep but delicate sweetness to the drink.”

La Matanza is deep rooted in Spain’s rural areas and involves the slaughter, preparation and consumption of a pig in a ‘nose to tail’ style of eating. Traditionally, this was a method for surviving the year ahead, where communities would come together at the end of the winter to help prepare the meat. Rooted in sustainability, the entire pig is prepared and nothing is wasted: it is said that just three pigs could feed a multi-generational family for an entire year.

“Traditionally, one would drink a generous slug of grappa before venturing out in the the cold to slaughter the pig, in order to keep warm,” explains Peratinos. “Grappa is similar to pisco, but the latter works better in cocktails.”