Mezcal y Miel
Smoke and honey. The two strongest flavours in the glass, and neither one yields.
The build
- 60 ml mezcal espadin
- 22 ml fresh lime juice
- 20 ml honey syrup, 3:1
- 2 dashes orange bitters
Shake with ice. Strain into a rocks glass over one large cube. No salt rim — it flattens the honey.
Notes
Espadin, not a wild varietal. Tobala and tepeztate are worth drinking on their own and worth not burying under citrus.
Slightly less syrup than the tequila build. Mezcal carries its own sweetness under the smoke, and 22 ml tips it over.
Variations
With Aperol — 15 ml in place of the bitters. Bitter orange against smoke, honey holding the middle.
Long — build over ice, top with grapefruit soda. The honey survives the dilution; agave syrup does not.
The honey
Against smoke you need a honey with structure. Floral honeys disappear. Mesquite is dry and caramelised with a green edge, and it meets espadin rather than hiding under it.