Assuming you have nothing else to think about, it’s possible you remember that our last drink was the Oaxaca Old Fashioned. That variation on the first cocktail features one and a half parts reposado tequila to a half part mezcal. and will inevitably be confused with this week’s similar but not at all identical drink. The Mezcal Old Fashioned is comprised of equal parts mezcal and reposado or anejo tequila. The alteration is a small one but not so minor when it comes to taste.
Fans of Only Murders in the Building may have noticed today’s drink as the preferred order of intrepid investigative podcaster Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez). It’s easy to see why the tender-but-tough straight woman to two often clownish septuagenarians (Steve Martin and Martin Short) would favor such a drink. It packs the punch you might need when hit by a sudden stress bomb related to a murder or your love life, but it also can keep your tastebuds happy and on their toes.
Take note, the Mezcal Old Fashioned, while only half mezcal is even more booze-forward than a standard whiskey old fashioned and won’t be for everyone. It will be better with the best ingredients you can afford. On the other hand, I’m poor and the Mezcal Old Fashioned, like last week’s Oaxacan, will be a permanent part of my repertoire. It’s easy to make and sweet but never insipid. My kind of adult beverage.
The Mezcal Old Fashioned
1-ounce mezcal
1-ounce anejo or reposado tequila
¼ ounce agave (some use demerara syrup; turbinado syrup may also work)
2-4 dashes of aromatic or chocolate bitters or replace one dash with orange bitters
Cocktail cherry or orange twist (I prefer the cherry)
Build in a not-too-large old-fashioned/rocks glass with the largest ice cube(s) you have and stir vigorously. As with the Oaxacan, the usual splash of soda/water is absent from this old fashioned, making lots of ice-cold dilution my preference. If you don’t mind the heat and love the brands of mezcal and tequila you’re using on their own, then you may want to stir a bit less. Sip slowly and silently thank the people of Mexico for giving us so much in the way of cuisine and culture while having to deal with our Norte Americano nonsense for all these centuries.
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Mezcal seems to be going at a premium. Bottles at $50-$80 price points are common and the under-$40 category seems sparse by comparison in my local stores. Nevertheless, my $29.99 bottle of Del Maguey Vida, which strikes me as something like the Johnny Walker Red of mezcals, went down nice and smooth despite having a slightly higher-than-usual ABV at 84 proof. It might be a bit boring for mezcal cognoscenti but its smoothness can be a relief compared to harsher products. Speaking of harshness – but also interesting complexity and smoky/vegetal notes – Madre Mezcal was my higher-priced option. Despite having only the standard 40 abv, it burns more than average. My theory is that Madre is so named because you’ll be crying for your mommy if you try to drink it too fast. Mezcal masters, however, find it a smooth-enough going bottle and presumably worth an additional $10 at $39.99. Call me a sissy, but I find this stuff difficult to take straight. However, combined with a gentler anejo and lots of icy dilution, it was kind of magical.
Reposado and anejo tequilas are available at lower prices than mezcals, and I’d managed to accumulate several bottles, some of which were, alas, killed in the process of creation. I had fun using such tasty and reasonably priced expressions as El Jimador Reposado (a bit rough but solid), Espolon Anejo (more complex but not particularly smooth), Corazon Anejo (the one that clicked with Madre Mezcal), and my other two favorites, Corazon Reposado and Hornitos Anejo, which were usually better with Del Maguey.
Finally, bitters. Recipes typically call for two to four dashes of either Mexican chocolate bitters or traditional aromatic bitters, usually Angostura. Some recipes suggest making one of those dashes orange bitters. None of these choices are half-bad, but I lean strongly towards chocolate because I always lean strongly towards chocolate.
