Recipe
- 1oz mezcal (I used Del Maguey Vida)
- 1oz sweet vermouth (Dolin Rouge)
- 1oz Cynar
- 3 drops Bittermens Hellfire Habanero shrub
- 2 dashes chocolate bitters
Stir all ingredients with ice and strain over a fresh large cube. Express a grapefruit peel over top and drop in
About
Smoky, slightly spicy, with just the right balance of bitterness and sweetness….DELICIOUS. This here is a mezcal-based Negroni. I’ve totally been eyeing all the amazing variations I saw during Negroni Week last month, and just had to try my hand at creating a mezcal variation.
If you’re not familiar with it, the Negroni is a classic cocktail traditionally composed of equal parts of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. It’s a boozy stirred cocktail that has a fascinating bitterness that may take some getting accustomed to, but is a crowd favorite amongst cocktail enthusiasts.
In this variation, mezcal is substituted in for the gin. To go with the earthy, vegetal flavors prominent in agave spirits (agave is a plant after all), I subbed in Cynar (a bittersweet liqueur made with artichokes, amongst many other botanicals) for the traditional Campari. The overall drink is then rounded out with some spicy and chocolatey flavors.