pantomimist

1 oz Bourbon (Four Roses)
1 oz Campari
1/2 oz Mezcal (Montelobos)
1/2 oz Crème de Cacao (Marie Brizard)

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a wide orange twist.

A few weeks ago, I was looking through the Negroni variation submissions for the ShakeStir competition, and I spotted an intriguing one from Boston's own Sahil Mehta of Estragon. He described his drink, The Pantomimist, as, "Beauty in simplicity, as with the Negroni, but with darker notes from the modified base and the cacao, and an additional layer of complexity from the smoke." I am not sure whether I was more taken in by the flavor combinations in the recipe or the drink name itself...
The Pantomimist offered orange oil and wood smoke notes over the Campari aroma. Next, the sip was mostly malty from the Bourbon, and the swallow packed a lot of flavor with whiskey, smoky agave, and bitter chocolate and orange elements. Indeed, the combination brought out a lot more of the orange notes from the Campari than usual, and the drink was not as chocolaty as I first expected.