bohemio

2 oz Reposado Tequila (Lunazul)
1/4 oz Mezcal (Del Maguey Vida)
1/2 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup (Gomme)
1/2 oz Becherovka

Shake with ice and strain into an iced filled rocks glass (cocktail glass sans ice). Flame an orange peel over the top of the drink.

On Friday night, I was still on the heels of the tequila-mezcal drink that Scott Holliday made me when I spotted the Bohemio in Food and Wine: Cocktails 2008. The drink was created by Eben Freedman, the bar manager at Manhattan's Tailor, and the name makes reference to the Czech liqueur Becherovka that gives this drink its distinctive flavor. Becherovka is a digestif flavored with clove, anise seed, cinnamon, and some thirty-odd other herbs and is best used here in Boston by Eastern Standard bartenders in drinks like the Metamorphosis and Elixir Alpestre.
The Bohemio started with an aroma of orange oil and mezcal. Flavorwise, the beginning of the sip was a sweet citrus that was almost floral followed by tequila notes in the middle. The swallow was all about the smoky mezcal and the Becherovka's clove spice; this smoky-spice combination reminded me a lot of the punch I created for an Easter party earlier in the year. It was rather surprising how the balance of the Bohemio was neither too sweet nor too sharp; indeed, the drink was most likely mellowed a bit by the gomme syrup and orange juice components.