Friday, September 24, 2010

chupacabra

1 oz Lunazul Reposado Tequila
1 oz St. Germain
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 barspoon Mezcal

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

On Sunday evening, I decided to travel to Washington Street in the South End and finally visit The Gallows. I arrived just as a seat at the bar opened up, and when I sat down I was greeted by head bartender April Wachtel who I had briefly met at Tales of the Cocktail in July. Upon perusing the menu, the Chupacabra -- both for its ingredients and its name -- stood out as a good starting point. I mean, a tequila drink named after one of the wonders of modern cryptozoology?
The Chupacabra started with a mezcal and lime aroma, and part way through the drink, the Punt e Mes grape and St. Germain floral notes became apparent on the nose. On the sip, the tequila and St. Germain paired up rather well, and both were complemented by the lime. The St. Germain aided in making the drink pretty mellow especially for a tequila and mezcal cocktail. Similarly, the Punt e Mes functioned to make the St. Germain less distinguishable in the mix despite being a major constituent of the recipe. Overall, the drink was pretty balanced, and the added complexity of the bitter Punt e Mes vermouth and smoky mezcal gave the Chupacabra some intrigue over a standard Tequila Daisy.

7 comments:

dfan said...

Very tasty. After trying a few drinks in which mezcal was a main ingredient, it occurred to me that it might more often work well at around the 1/4 oz level (say, like Fernet) to just inject a bit of smokiness. This drink is certainly a positive data point for that hypothesis.

KeithP said...

Mezcal has become a bit of an obsession for me over the past year and i'm always in search of new cocktail recipes that use it. This sounded interesting - using the Punt e Mes as a counter to the elderflower. I wonder though (sounded like you didn't find this to be the case but just going off the printed recipe) if it skews to the sweet side? I have found that a small dose of the elderflower can go a long ways. Any go recent recs on Mezcal based drinks?

frederic said...

Dfan, definitely mezcal can add a great hint of flavor with a rinse, barspoon addition (1/8 oz), or float. Some drinks do work with all mezcal, others not as much.

KeithP, I didn't make it -- this was how it was served to me. Generally, a little St. Germain can go a long way (La Amour en Fuite or La Bicycleta for example), but here the other ingredients tone it down. Mezcal, tequila, and some citrus have had this effect. The Little Branch Cocktail, the Zolaco, and Esmino's Escape are 3 good ones that come to mind.

HayBoy said...

you're normally great at referencing other similar drinks, so im amazed you didnt acknowledge misty's maximilion here.

having said that i love tequila and have a glut of limes currently so might mix this up tonight and see how it goes

KeithP said...

Understood on the first point and thanks for the recs.

Tony Harion said...

Don’t think i´ve ever tried st. Germain + Punt e Mes together. It´s on my todo list!

Unknown said...

Keith,
Have you triend Pierde Almas Mezcal? Its truly a remarkable Mezcal that you can sip NEAT. Its not as smokey and the other flavors are definitely present and not overshadowed by this.
Your truly,
Pierde Almas NYC (Find us in FaceBook)