RECIPE: Mezcal Margarita

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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.

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.