It’s our first Mini Takeover! Three days, three cocktails. This one is exciting. First, we’re focusing on mezcal, an ingredient we’ve yet to experiment with or feature. Second, we had the awesome chance to partner with Drizly to make it happen! Drizly is the leading on-demand alcohol delivery service in the U.S. and Canada. You simply place your order to have beer, wine, or liquor delivered to your doorstep within an hour. They combine the best selection and price, content-rich and personalized shopping experiences, and the speed and convenience of on-demand delivery to Drizly deliver “The Joy of Drinking™” to legal-age drinkers across the United States, including a handful of Southern cities!
You’ve likely heard mezcal described as the “cousin of tequila.” The at once sweet, savory and smoky cousin. In my opinion, it tastes like what would happen if tequila and scotch got together and drank a little too much tequila and scotch and, well, you know…
I’ve got to thank Imbibe for one of the more simple (and much more accurate than my own) explanations of the mezcal process I found: “Unlike tequila, where the hearts of the agave plants are oven-steamed, Mezcal production involves slow-roasting the hearts in covered, underground firepits. The pulp from the smoked agave is then fermented and distilled, resulting in a spirit redolant of the smoke that permeated it early on.” That’s enough learning for now, let’s move on to the drinking, shall we?
First up, Día de los Valientes! This is adapted from the Día Del Muerto cocktail from Atlanta’s Pura Vida, one of our favorite spots that is now closed. The main difference is the use of Mexican Fernet instead of Fernet-Branca. The former is smoother and doesn’t have the explosion of peppermint oil, though it’s just as bitter. You’ve gotta be brave (valiente) for this one. It is dark and it is boozy!
- 1.5 oz Mezcal – we used Fidencio
- 1/2 oz Fernet-Vallet
- 1/2 oz sweet vermouth – we used Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
- 1/4 oz Amaro Montenegro
- 1/4 oz agave syrup – my taste test friend preferred hers a tad sweeter, so she got 1/2 oz and it was still very balanced. I don’t recommend going any sweeter than that.
- 1 dash Angostura Bitters
- 1 dash Peychaud’s Bitters
Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.
Strain into a rocks glass over a large cube – we use a Neat Ice Kit for clear ice.
No garnish.
Thank you to Drizly for sponsoring this post by providing a portion of the ingredients!