It’s Mezcal Time everyone! This native to Mexico spirit is starting to catch up to its more famous and widespread cousin tequila. Let me tell you about some of the key differences between the two:
Tequila is a type of mezcal, much like how scotch and bourbon are types of whiskey. Mezcal is defined as any agave based spirit. This includes tequila, which is made in specific regions of Mexico and must be made from only blue agave whereas Mezcal can be made from a wider variety of agave.
Mezcal can be made from a variety of different agave plants. They are also harvested in the same way as the blue agave that makes Tequila. However the agave pinas that make Mezcal are cooked in fire pits in the ground and this is what gives it its smoky flavor. Once roasted, the agave pinas are then crushed in a mill to extract the sugars.
After the agave is crushed, it is placed in wooden barrels to ferment with water. After the fermentation, the agave mash is then distilled twice and blended to create a smooth liquid. Finally the mezcal is either bottled right away or it is left to age in oak barrels.
In this video I am making 6 of my favorite drinks with Mezcal. Most of the drinks are twists on already known classics so it might be easier for you to make them by yourself. Otherwise ask the bartender next time when visiting your local bar to make one of the drinks for you.
The Mezcal that I am using is San Cosme that has a rather smoky character but feel free to play around with different brands. After all, what makes this spirit so interesting is its diversity!
Here are the recipes of the drinks in case you want to get straight to business:
Mezcal Paloma
60ml | 2 oz Mezcal
15mll | 0.5 Lime Juice
120ml | 4 oz Grapefruit Lemonade
Method: Using salt or some spice mixture that you like, rim your highball glass or any other as long as the drink will fit in with plenty of ice. Then add Mezcal and Lime juice followed by some ice cubes and then top it off with your grapefruit lemonade. Cheers!
Mezcalita aka. Mezcal Margarita:
60ml | 2 oz Mezcal
30ml | 1 oz Dry Curacao or any other orange liqueur
30ml | 1 oz Lime Juice
Method: Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Measuring is important for the balance of the cocktail so please do so. Then add plenty of ice and shake hard for 15 seconds. Strain into a coupette rimmed with salt and you are good to go.
Mezcal Sour:
60ml | 2 oz Mezcal
15ml | ½ oz Agave
30ml | 1 oz Lime Juice
1 Egg White
Method:
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker or any shaking vessel. If you are adding egg white or aquafaba then first “dry” shake for 10-15 seconds.( “Dry shake” is basically shaking without ice. ) Add plenty of ice and shake for around 15 seconds. Strain in a big tumbler or any glass that you can find and add some fresh ice.
Mezcal Negroni (why not Mezcaloni?!)
45ml | 1.5 oz Mezcal
25ml | ⅔ oz Campari
25ml | ⅔ oz Sweet Vermouth
Method:
Add all three ingredients to an old fashioned glass with plenty of ice and stir to mix everything and chill the drink. Express the oils of an orange zest (peel) and place it in the drink. You can also use mixing glass beforehand and then strain into your drinking vessel but in this case I was lazy and skipped that part.
Oaxaca Old Fashioned
45ml | 1.5 oz Reposado Tequila
15ml | ½ oz Mezcal
1 bar spoon of Agave
2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
2 dashes of Chocolate Bitters (i missed it in the video)
Method:
Add all ingredients to an old fashioned glass with plenty of ice and stir to mix everything and chill the drink. Express the oils of an orange zest (peel) and place it in the drink. You can also use mixing glass beforehand and then strain into your drinking vessel but in this case I was lazy and skipped that part.
Green Beast
60ml | 2 oz Mezcal
30ml | 1 oz Lime Juice
20ml | ⅔ oz Chili Sirup (here you will find the recipe) • 3 Homemade Syrups To I...
4-8 mint leaves
3 slices of cucumber
Method: Start by adding first the mint leaves and then the cucumber on top in a mixing tin. Then muddle them and add the rest of the ingredients. Before adding ice and shaking things up, first rim your serving glass with taijin or salt. Now shake hard for around 15 seconds and double strain into the glass. Using a fine strainer is important here otherwise you will end up with pieces of mint and cucumber in your drink. Salute!
0:00 | Intro
0:40 | Mezcal Paloma
2:58 | Mezcalita aka. Mezcal Margarita
5:19 | Mezcal Sour
9:24 | Mezcal Negroni
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