Recipe

• 1.5oz mezcal (I used Fidencio mezcal)
• .75oz Drambuie
• 4 dashes of grapefruit bitters (Honest John Bitters Co)

Stir altogether with ice and strain over a large cube. Garnish with some fresh rosemary (don’t skip this step!)

About

Wellll I’m back! Just spent some time in China and since FB/IG/Twitter/YouTube/Gmail/anything Google are all blocked there, decided to disconnect and just take a breather from all social media. Outside of exploring the cultural treasures of Beijing, I definitely also took time to check out the cocktail culture there and learn more about the national spirit: baijiu. Look out for more on all that soon in bottle talks and on @barfaithdrinks.

For now, back to regular programming with this spirituous cocktail: full of herb, honey, and smoke, and lifted by a breath of fresh citrus. Oh, and have I mentioned I’m obsessed with mezcal? This simple recipe comes courtesy of Honest John Bitters Co and is a riff of the “Cocktail Dark Ages” drink from the 60s: the Rusty Nail. And well, this variation is freakin delicious.

Drambuie is one of the liqueurs I forget about often, and everytime I ‘rediscover’ it, I’m surprised why I don’t use it more. It’s a scotch-based honey liqueur, at a potent 40% abv. I must not be the only one who forgets about it often, as I rarely see recipes with it, but it’s an absolutely fantastic liqueur that has a history extending hundreds of years. If you have it, give this drink a go, and if not, consider picking up a small bottle on your next trip to the store. It is so unique and unlike anything else!