RECIPE: Rosemary, Apple Cider Margarita

View fullsize

Rosemary, Apple Cider Margarita

This cocktail screams winter. It has the hearty rosemary, herbaceous notes carried by the sweetness in the apple, and finally balanced by the smokey, sexiness of Mezcal Amarás. You can make this in large batches, like a large batch of punch for a party, or make as single serve cocktails. ¡ Salud !

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces Mezcal Amarás

• 4 ounces unfiltered apple cider

• 1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice

• 1/4 ounce simple syrup

• Dash of bitters, (Peychaud’s)

• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, charred on the comal

Method:

1. In a cocktail stirring glass combine all the liquid ingredients with ice.

2. On a preheated comal, toast the rosemary sprig until it smokes and becomes fragrant. Place it immediately in the cocktail stirring glass.

3. Stir the mixture and pour into a cocktail glass. Use the sprig as a garnish and stir stick.

View fullsize

RECIPE: Cucumber Mezcal Margarita

View fullsize

Cucumber Mezcal Margarita

When I think of a refreshing cocktail, I immediately think of cucumbers, lemon, ice. Native to India, cucumbers were brought to New Spain post-conquest. This Old World squash is high in moisture and I prefer the English variety for cocktails as the sugar content tends to be higher, meaning a sweeter cocktail without additives. Leave the skin on the cucumber, it will add a lovely green hue to the drink.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 5 inch piece of English cucumber, cut into cubes

• 3 ounces lime juice

• 1.5 ounces lemon juice

• 1.5 ounces agave nectar

• 4 ounces Casamigos Mezcal

• 10 Chili pequin or 3 chili de arbol toasted on a comal until fragrant OR Poctli Sal De Muchos Chiles

• crushed ice

Method:

1. Add the cucumber, lime juice, lemon juice, and agave nectar to a blender and blend thoroughly for 3 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer.

2. Pour the mezcal and cucumber mixture into a shaker and shake.

3. Squeeze lime juice onto a plate, dip the glass rim into the lime juice and then the chili powder to rim the edge.

4. Add crushed ice to the glass and pour the cucumber mixture over and serve. Garish with another slice of cucumber.

RECIPE: Mezcal Margarita

This recipe is special and it is not mine - this is the recipe of Noah Small, the beverage director at Empellon, NYC. It is simple and it puts a whopping 2 ounces of mezcal forward in the recipe. The marriage of the agave nectar with the espadin is simply brilliant because the flavor bases are the same. When I think of traditional Margaritas, with triple sec or Curaçao, I think of hangovers and nights in a cheap Tex-Mex restaurant. Sweetness combined with smoke here is honest - a Margarita as it should be. I like to use the brand Fidencio Clasico in this cocktail, as it is my go-to mezcal for mixing and Mexican sea salt for the rim. The fishy flavor of the Mexican sea salt truly makes all the savory difference. You can find sal mexicana in the Mexican section of the grocery store in a small bag next to the dried chiles.

View fullsize

Margarita de Mezcal

Ingredients:

• Mexican sea salt
• 1 ounce lime juice
• 2 ounces Fidencio Clasico Mezcal
• 3/4 ounce agave nectar

Method:

1. Squeeze enough lime juice onto a plate and sprinkle some Mexican sea salt onto another. Dip the glass rim into the lime juice and then immediately into the salt, spinning to coat the rim of the glass. Pour crushed ice into the glass.
2. Mix the lime juice, Fidencio Mezcal, and agave nectar in a shaker.
3. Pour over the ice and serve.