jabuticaba

1 1/2 oz Mezcal
1 oz Campari
1 oz Jabuticaba Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass.

Two Mondays ago, Andrea and I finally paid a visit to Pomodoro in Brookline where Stephen Shellenberger tends bar on Mondays and Tuesday nights. I had previously written here about a drink Stephen created when he was at Dante called the Alto Cucina that we made at home; in addition, I enjoy reading Stephen's profound blog posts in the Boston Apothecary. However, we had not sat at his bar before and were looking forward to rectifying this. For my first drink, Stephen mentioned something he had just made for Will, one of the bartenders from Drink who was sitting to my right. The drink contained an odd ingredient, Licor de Jabuticaba, that was made from a grape-like black fruit that is native to Brazil and was developed as part of their experimental agriculture program. Indeed, the liqueur possessed a curious flavor akin to a Concord grape but sharper. Stephen is always mentioning great and affordable products that we can get in the area -- everything from Cape Verdian rum to Azorean passion fruit liqueur -- so I was excited to try one of his creations using one of these exotic ingredients.
Stephen paired the liqueur with mezcal and Campari. While the nose smelled very smoky from the mezcal, the sip was a pleasing berry note followed by the smoke and atringency of the mezcal. The Jabuticaba's berry flavor was accentuate by the Campari, and the combination of the two made for a taste comparable to the vermouth-amaro Punt e Mes. When I let Andrea have a taste, she was rather surprised that "Campari really gets smacked around [here]!"