Love mezcal? Hate mezcal? Either way, I’ve got a cocktail for you.

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I myself appreciate mezcal in small doses. I like the characteristics it brings to a drink. I don’t like it to be the focal point of a drink. I guess you could say I like a little “Smoke on the Water”? But not a full-fledged forest fire. Everything in moderation.

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Smooooke on the waaater, fire in the sky.

I love this cocktail, which I know, is tooting my own horn. It’s balanced. It’s complex. It hits on all cylinders. I call it a (you guessed it) Smoke on the Water, and it’s a tequila- and mezcal-based riff on a classic smash. A smash generally refers to any cocktail that incorporates a spirit + sweetener + muddled fresh herbs or fruit.

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This particular smash also uses a Hatch chile simple syrup. For the unacquainted, Hatch chiles are a mild New Mexico-grown pepper similar to an Anaheim pepper. They have a two-month season spanning August and September, and Texans love them so much that you can find a Hatch chile version of almost anything – cornbread, kombucha, bacon, ice cream and more. The Hatch chile lends a subtle and flavorful heat to this cocktail. It’s not overly spicy, so don’t fret if spice ain’t yo’ thang.

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To make the syrup, slice up one Hatch chile. Discard the stem portion. Add the rest of the sliced chile – including the seeds because that’s where the spice is at – to a sauce pan with 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Stir on low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Once dissolved, remove the sauce pan from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperate (~30 minutes). Strain the syrup into a container for storage.

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Now, to get started making your cocktail, add 6-7 fresh mint leaves to your cocktail shaker along with 1/2 oz Hatch chile simple syrup. Muddle the leaves gently for 5-10 seconds, enough that you release all the minty oils but not so much that you turn the leaves into a pulpy goop (scientific term). After you finish muddling, add ice to your shaker.

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Next up is TEQUILA (*saxophone plays* ba-da da-do de-do dah-doooo…we all read that the same way, right?) and MEZCAL (*crickets chirp*). Most decent blanco tequilas should work in this cocktail. If you can find it, Austin-based Dulce Vida is my personal favorite. Mezcals can vary noticeably from one brand to the next. For this cocktail I like Mezcal Union since it’s not too smokey. Pour slightly heavier on the tequila (1 1/4 oz) than the mezcal (3/4 oz).

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To round out the cocktail, add 1 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 oz Solerno (which is a Sicilian blood orange liqueur) and a couple dashes Regan’s orange bitters. Shake for 10-15 seconds. Double strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Quick note: crushing ice is fun, easy and stress-relieving…put your uncrushed ice into a ziploc bag and give it a few good whacks with a mallet. Garnish with an orange wheel (I used a Valencia orange, honestly just because of the size) and a mint sprig.

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Smoke On The Water

Smoke On The Water

Pairs well with “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 oz Dulce Vida blanco tequila
  • 3/4 oz Mezcal Union
  • 1 oz lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz Solerno blood orange liqueur
  • 1/2 oz Hatch chile simple syrup
  • 2 dashes Regan’s orange bitters
  • 6-7 mint leaves

Instructions

  1. Add mint leaves and Hatch chile simple syrup to cocktail shaker. Muddle 5-10 seconds.
  2. Add ice, tequila, mezcal, lemon juice, Solerno, and bitters.
  3. Shake 10-15 seconds.
  4. Double strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.
  5. Garnish with an orange wheel and mint sprig.

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