[ofrenda]

1 oz Chinaco Blanco Tequila
1/2 oz Gulab Sharbat Syrup (* see here)
1/4 oz Day of the Dead Bitters
1/2 bsp Del Maguey Mezcal Vida

Shake with ice and strain into a champagne flute rimmed with salt. Top with sparkling wine.

Last Thursday, Andrea and I went over to Rendezvous for dinner. For my pre-prandial cocktail, bartender Scott Holliday had an idea with tequila and mezcal. While I have had a tequila aperitif before lightened with aromatized wine, namely the Metexa, what grabbed me was that Scott's idea for a Champagne cocktail! The bitters that Scott used were one of my creations; the Day of the Dead Bitters were based on marigold (a key symbol of the Day of the Dead festival) and supplemented by a variety of Mexican botanicals. Overall, the bitters are somewhat floral and rather earthy. To match the floral aspect, Scott sweetened the drink with his rose-flavored gulab sharbat syrup.

The drink's nose was floral from the bitters and the syrup. The minerality of the Chinaco tequila complemented the dryness of the sparkling wine and the earthy notes in the bitters on the swallow. Moreover, the salt rim helped to accent this mineral note. Lastly, the sparkling wine and tequila helped to knock back the sweetness donated by the gulab sharbat syrup considerably.