el molino

1 1/2 oz Sombra Mezcal
3/4 oz Lustau Palo Cortado Sherry (3/8 oz Lustau Dry Oloroso, 3/8 oz Lustau Dry Amontillado)
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1/4 oz Marie Brizard Crème de Cacao

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass.

Two Saturdays ago, we started the evening with a drink from the PDT Cocktail Book called the El Molino. The name translates into "the mill" used for grinding fresh roasted cocoa beans into chocolate; while I have not seen chocolate production in Mexico, I have taken a tour of Somerville's own Taza Chocolate factory which utilizes a traditional stone molino (photos in the link). With the mezcal and bean grinding imagery, the El Molino reminded me of Misty Kalkofen's homage to coffee bean processing in Mexico, the Beneficio de Café.
The El Molino greeted the senses with the mezcal's smoke and agave notes along with a hint of the liqueur's chocolate. The sip offered a light grape from the sherries, and the sherry continued on in the swallow as a nuttiness along with the mezcal and cacao notes. As the drink warmed up, the swallow became spicier with the pimento dram flavors becoming more prominent.