RECIPE: Rosemary, Apple Cider Margarita

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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.

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RECIPE: Watermelon Margarita

Happy Pride! This year we celebrate 50 years since our forefathers took a stand at Stonewall. I am a proud gay man, a proud Mexican-American and thankful that we have come this far. Let’s celebrate, realize how far we have come, and look at what else we need to fight for! This cocktail tastes like summer - ¡ vamos fiestar !

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces mezcal or tequila

• 1.5 ounces lime juice

• 2 ounces blended watermelon

• 1 teaspoon agave nectar

• Salt for the rim

Method:

1. In a shaker pour the mezcal or tequila, lime juice over ice.

2. In a blender, puree watermelon, strain and reserve.

3. Pour the watermelon puree and agave nectar into the shaker.

4. Salt the glasses.

5. Shake the cocktail until well frothed and pour into the salted glasses.

RECIPE: Pride Pineapple Mule Cocktail

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Happy Pride! It's a good year to be gay and orgulloso! This cocktail is my interpretation of a refreshing Pride after a long day in the sun. With the Morris Kitchen Ginger syrup and the Los Amantes (the lovers in Spanish) this cocktail follows the tradition of the mezcal mule, but with pineapple to make you sweeter. The comal roasted pineapple and spicy ginger dance on the palette, invoking the subtle smoke in the mezcal.

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Comal Roasted Pineapple

Makes one cocktail

Ingredients:

• Pineapple, sliced in 1 inch thick rings, rind on

• 2 teaspoons Morris Kitchen Ginger Syrup

• 1 ounce lime juice

• 2 ounces Los Amantes Mezcal Joven

• splash of seltzer water

• candied ginger and pineapple leaf as garnish

Method:

1. On a comal over medium high heat, roast the pineapple slices until black and charred. Cut away the rind and core, and blend with 2 ounces of water for 3 minutes, alternating between high and low speeds. Filter the juice through a fine mesh stainer to remove the pulp.

2. Add crushed ice to a shaker and add ginger syrup, 4 ounces of roasted pineapple juice, lime juice, mezcal. Shake thoroughly.

3. Pour into a glass and top with a splash of seltzer. Garnish with candied ginger and pineapple leaf.

RECIPE: Paloma Cocktail

TORONJA

GRAPEFRUIT

Pink. Salty. Sweet. This is the perfect cocktail and is as common as the Margarita in Mexico. This recipe will cleanse your guest's palates and grapefruits are in season - so get squeezing! This is a lover's drink.

Ingredients:

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• 5.5 ounces fresh grapefruit juice
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 2 ounces Bahnez mezcal
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• splash of sparkling soda

Method:

1. Prepare a highball glass by dipping the rim into 1/2 ounce grapefruit juice, and then dipping it into the salt. Fill the glass with crushed ice
2. Mix the remaining grapefruit juice, mezcal, lime juice, sugar in a shaker. Shake until combined.
3. Pour over the ice and pour a splash of sparkling soda. Garnish with a grapefruit or lime wedge.

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.

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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.