For amari and agave lovers, a cocktail combining mezcal, tequila, Cynar and Fernet. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Or try, , which was made from agaves that were cooked underground—and then left there for 30 days to grow crazy molds.”, IF YOU WANT SOMETHING TO PAIR WITH YOUR DESSERT…, “Pechuga-style mezcals are generally distilled with fruits, spices, and protein (the latter usually taking the form of a chicken or a turkey),” Banks says. But I don’t believe that the public can just jump from drinking vodka-and-soda to drinking neat spirits that taste like cheese or roasted poblanos. Tamarind Margarita Here’s how to make it! Mezcal Milk Punch An amped up milk punch from Velveteen Rabbit in Vegas. Straight from Mexico City, this cocktail combines watermelon, mezcal, Strega, lime and ginger beer. And why it’s important to wait. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Get easy-to-follow, delicious recipes delivered right to your inbox. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. At the same time, I found myself with a couple of corporations asking how they could participate. Mezcal El Silencio’s Espadín expression is an excellent introductory mezcal, offering subtle smoke and salinity surrounding notes of citrus, dried fruit, and sweet potato, to name a few. "And mezcal is now a product controlled by a denomination of origin.". What to Order: Riptide (Mezcal, pineapple juice, blue curacao, lime juice, mint, basil, vanilla bean sugar, black salt and sugar rim garnish with rosemary) or Pomona Street (mezcal, fresh lime juice, triple sec, grapefruit juice, charred lemon), What to Order: Zorro (Ilegal Joven mezcal, Cointreau, blackberry thyme cordial, lime, Peychaud’s bitters), What to Order: Smokin’ Pina (Mezcal Union Uno, Antica Torino, vanilla bean, pineapple, apricot, agave, lime) or El Camino (Patron Reposado, El Silencio Mezcal, Amaro Montenegro, mole bitters, morita chile cordial, smoked cherrywood), What to Order: Don’t Be a Pasilla (cocoa-infused Bruxo Mezcal, Los Sunday Blanco Tequila, blood orange, pasilla and árbol syrup, lime) or Piña Piña (Los Javis mezcal, ancho verde, fresh pineapple juice, lime cordial), What to Order: Smoky Paloma (Xicaru Mezcal, grapefruit juice, soda water). “I don’t begrudge anyone making or bottling something consistent for a broader audience, which expects each pour to taste like the first one they had. I can’t describe to you the flavor profile of a bottle of Victor Ramos’ tobalá from Mal Bien ($109), because it literally depends on which bottle you have. If all of your beer-snob friends laugh when you order PBR, this is what you should get when they start talking about mezcal. Mezcal, meaning “roasted agave,” is made from an agave plant and has a distinct smoky flavor. Over here we love making variations on the Moscow mule, and this one is quite the party trick. Here’s a bit more about this smoky Mexican spirit and how it’s made: Make a mezcal margarita for a smoky spin on the classic! This spirit is great when it’s mixed into a drink to perfection: too much and it completely overpowers the flavors. ", "An excellent introductory mezcal, offering subtle smoke and salinity surrounding notes of citrus, dried fruit, and sweet potato, to name a few. For this selection of 20 mezcal-based cocktails, I've mainly picked recipes where mezcal is the only or main spirit. And its largest program to-date is the replanting of agave. For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube! Supercall The sweetness of grapefruit juice contrasts the tart lime and bubbly soda water. Dip the edge of the rim into a plate of flaky sea salt (or for a festive look, use. You can’t go wrong with any of their creations.) Like an ostrich and emu—both spirits have plenty in common: They're each distilled from agave and aren’t typically aged more than a few years, sometimes just months. A frozen cocktail inspired by one of San Francisco’s modern classics. Twenty years ago, if you knew what mezcal was, this is what you pictured. Sips up! If you want something specific to yours, go to mezcalreviews.com and do a little research. Adding the rich, smoky flavor of mezcal to a margarita is a no-brainer: it goes hand in hand with the tangy lime! Pour all ingredients into a shaker. Pro Tip: Hola Jalapeno's Kate Ramos offered some insight into one of the ingredients in this drink. If you love smoky flavors and can handle a bit of boozy punch in your drinks, you’ll fall hard for this margarita. Mezcal Avocado Margarita A unique twist on the classic. Among its many community and ecological efforts, Gracias a Dios is highly prolific when it comes to planting agave, and they pay their workers 25 percent higher than the local standard daily salary in Matatlán. Subscribe for free weekly recipes & more! So I reached out to Lou Bank, the founder and executive director of S.A.C.R.E.D (Saving Agave for Culture, Recreation, Education and Development)—a 501(c)3 not-for-profit that uses traditional and artisanal agave spirits from rural Mexico as a channel to advance the communities that produce these truly special mezcals and raicilla. They were using methods that had disappeared during the industrial revolution. Your summer needs mezcal-tails. Here are some Cognacs you’ll love. It’s the master of giving a sultry makeover to margaritas and negronis; counterbalancing a tart punch; or acting as a savory substitute in a Bloody Mary, as it perfectly complements crispy bacon. But that’s specific to my palate. (And if you can’t find those specific expressions from those brands, know that I’ve enjoyed literally everything I’ve had from each of the four of them. Gracias a Dios is Mexican-owned and is a fully solar-powered distillery, and their factory was built using adobe bricks generated by production waste; 60 percent of the water used to make their Mezcal is collected from the rain (approximately 180,000 liters annually). Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our “That first sip will clear your palate; the second will introduce your palate to the complexities of the spirit; the third will be your first ‘actual’ taste of the spirit, now that your palate has been initiated. All Jacked Up Ahumado Seco All three are affordable bottles that taste good neat, but also work well in cocktails. “By law, that’s the only agave that can be used to make tequila. Here are 20 of our favorite recipes. Mezcal and sherry meet in this summery swizzle. ", "The producer ferments the agave juice in the skin of a cow, giving the spirit an interesting lactic, floral flavor. Garnish with pineapple, and enjoy! These Cocktails Are Smooth, Smokey and Go Down Easy, 10 LA Restaurants Offering Pick-Up and Dine-In Thanksgiving Dinners This Year, 15 Orange County Happy Hour Spots That’ll Help You Forget It’s Only Monday, How This San Diego Company Is Keeping Spirits High and Bringing Craft Products to Market, 14 Orange County Restaurants Offering Delectable Take-Out and Dine-In Meals This Thanksgiving, 7 Timepieces From Tourneau for Everyone on Your List This Year, The Sleek and Exclusive BRABUS ROCKET 900 Is at the Top of our Wishlist This Year—Here’s Why, These Are The 8 Luxury SUVs We Love And Where in Orange County You Are Most Likely To See One, Calling All Millennials! Also try the Ensamble from Los Vecinos Mezcal ($65), which features a few different agaves processed in an assortment of ways and blended to a sweet, peppery sipper; or Fidencio Unico mezcal ($45), which proves that not all mezcals are smoky.”, “Here’s a pro move: Try a neat pour of the mezcal used in your favorite cocktail. Admittedly, some not-so-good bottles might taste like someone added liquid smoke to your tequila. “We’ve purchased over 22,000 baby agave plants from a middle school in Zaachila, at a price that is two to three times market rate, thus supporting this school in a community of need,” Bank says. “What I experienced that time showed me that there was something very special going on with these spirits—that they tasted so different because they were made in a way that spirits aren’t normally made. With: Mezcal, curaçao, sweet vermouth, lavender bitters, ginger ale and cola. This particular expression is double-distilled and offers an ABV of 45 percent. Limantour Michelada TJ Inspired by flavors of Tijuana, this spin balances cucumber and Clamato with mezcal. If you’re brand new to mezcal, you’ve probably been introduced to the agave liquor in a cocktail. This spin on the paloma is definitely worth adding to your collection. But you can also enjoy those same flavors on top of an agave base with reposado and añejo mezcal expressions,” Bank says. Or try Almamezcalera’s Salmiana expressions from San Luis Potosí at Erick Rodriguez’s tasting room near the Mexico City airport. National Mezcal Day is on October 21; head to one of these beloved restaurants and bars in Orange County for the best mezcal cocktails around. If you’re looking for a special smoke-forward Mezcal with dried fruit, spice, and umami qualities, look no further than Gracias a Dios Pechuga. Recipe Ideas › 4 Mezcal Cocktails Worth Making. Mezcal Mule. The Best Mezcals to Drink Neat and in Cocktails, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Get $90 Off Of Home Chef For Your Thanksgiving Meal For Veterans Day, Stay Warm With A Nice Coffee Cocktail With The Help Of Trade Coffee, Get A New Instant Pot On Sale Just In Time For The Holidays, Sierra Nevada Celebration IPA Is Fall’s Perfect Party Beer, Unwind With Some Booze While You Check The Election Results, Simple Holiday Recipes and Drink Pairings for the Ultimate Feast, Making the Most of the 2020 Tele-Tailgate, 9 Best Whiskey Glasses To Gift This Holiday Season, Fill Up Your Home Bar With Some Villa One Tequila, We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Men's Journal and its partners. A next level margarita! And once your palate has tasted the La Luna Tequilana, try the espadín from Lalocura ($153), made in the same type of heritage way but with a different agave and may well be the best illustration of why Oaxaca is the epicenter of mezcal. “Doña Vega is one of my favorite mezcal brands on the market right now––the Espadín is great for cocktails. ", "The first release of Ensamble is just 2,000 bottles, and with an ABV of 51.6 percent, the higher proof helps carry the spirit’s strong finish. Doña Vega Mezcal Espadin, 5 Best Cachacas for Mixing up a Fantastic Caipirinha, The 8 Best Bartending Guides and Cocktail Books of 2020, The 10 Best Canned Cocktails to Drink in 2020, The 9 Best Scotch Whiskies to Drink in 2020, 10 Best Tequilas for Margaritas and Shots in 2020. Want to grab a bottle for all these mezcal cocktails? The recipes have been well tested and will work for you and your family every time! But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Thai chilis lend a little heat to this tequila and mezcal classic from San Francisco bartender Erik Adkins. Del Maguey Vida clocks in at 42 percent ABV and is known for its honeyed fruit-forward aromas and banana, citrus, sandalwood, and baking spice notes on the palate. Oaxacan Old Fashioned The first release of Ensamble is just 2,000 bottles, and with an ABV of 51.6 percent, Delanoy notes that the higher proof helps carry the spirit’s strong finish, lingering on the palate following light smoke and leading vegetal notes with layers of citrus. This Mezcal’s distiller, Amando Alvarez, is known for his collaborations with a local foundation aiming to reforest indigenous agave species and protect the biosphere in the process. "An organic, double-distilled Mezcal made from the Espadín maguey (agave plant) out of Mexico’s San Luis del Rio village.

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