tequila scaffa

2 oz Milagro Añejo Tequila
1 oz Maurin Quinquina

Pour into a rocks glass, stir briefly, and garnish with a lime knot twist. Note: ice is not used in this drink.

Last Wednesday, Andrea and I visited Rendezvous in Central Square for dinner. When I began talking drinks with bartender Scott Holliday, he mentioned that he came up with another Scaffa. Scaffas are an old fashioned style of drink of spirits, liqueurs, and/or bitters that are mixed and served at room temperature sort of like a Poussé-cafe without the layering. He had recently served the Rum Scaffa to a customer who then inquired what other Scaffas he could conjure up. Scott made this tequila one up on the spot, and I was served the second one a few days later.
The drink started with a lime and agave spirit aroma. The soft quinquina sip dotted with vanilla notes helped to quench the heat of the tequila on the swallow. Interestingly, the drink had an almost citrussy botanical finish. Initially I attributed the citrus aspect to the quinquina, but as the drink sat as I ate dinner, these notes intensified. I then realized that it was the lime twist that was elegantly infusing into the spirits over time. When I mentioned this to Scott, he was pleased for the feedback because he had originally tossed the peel after expressing the oil on the first take of this recipe.