Oaxacanite

We’ve been sampling cocktails around New York for the last few days and finally got around to hitting up our hotel bar, the Library of Distilled Spirits.

Our efforts efforts to order the Pretty Boy Floyd and the Madman from the older menu were unfortunately rebuked, because the kitchen was phasing out the cocktails and their respective components (Honeydew-infused gin and Black Truffle) were both not in stock. After chatting about our tastes, the bartender offered up his personal favorite cocktail, the Oaxacanite, created by Ben Long, down the street at the John Dory Oyster Bar in Manhattan. The drink was first published in Sasha Petraske’s book, Regarding Cocktails.

Although a few days of steady drinking can create a strong aversion to mezcal, we followed his suggestion and ordered it. Verdict? Delightful. 

Oftentimes smoke can dominate mescal drinks, but here we got strong chocolate notes and a nice underlying agave spirit warmth. It is so good, in fact, we were inspired to write this article (we are at present still seated at the bar). Make sure to shake with the grapefruit peel. The pith of the peel here is actually acting as the bittering agent. Shaking the hell out of it releases oils and is essential for creating a balanced drink.

Ingredients

• 1 oz Mescal
• 1 oz Blanco Tequila
• .75 oz Lime Juice
• .75 oz Honey Syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 2 inch Grapefruit Twist

Glass

Cocktail Glass

Instructions

• Add all ingredients to a shaker, shake and strain
• Garnish with the grapefruit twist