division bell

1 oz Mezcal (Del Maguey Vida)
3/4 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist (I substituted an orange one).

After the Greenbriar Cocktail, I began flipping through Food & Wine: Cocktails 2011 and spotted the Division Bell. Phil Ward created this drink for the opening menu of Manhattan's Mayaheul and named it after the Pink Floyd album that he was listening to a lot at the time. What drew me in was the Division Bell's Last Word vibe; considering that Phil's Final Ward was one of the first Last Word variations I tried, it is indeed within his style to play with that formula. Moreover, it is not the first mezcal Last Word-like drinks I have had, for I recall enjoying Ted Kilpatrick's La Palabra at No. 9 Park last autumn.
The Division Bell started with an aroma of citrus and smoke. The sip contained a sweet lime flavor with an increasing amount of Aperol notes as the drink warmed up. Next, the drink finished drier and funkier with the mezcal and Maraschino presenting themselves on the swallow. The Division Bell was definitely less herbal than a mezcal Last Word for Aperol is sweeter and less complex than green Chartreuse. The extra sweetness of Aperol did function well to balance the rougher aspects of the mezcal though.