[santa rosa]

1 1/2 oz Mezcal
1/2 oz Ancho Reyes
1/4 oz Crème de Cacao
1/4 oz Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a single old fashioned glass. Garnish with orange twist oil.

Two Mondays ago, Andrea and I paid a visit to bartender Sahil Mehta at Estragon. For a first cocktail, Andrea requested Sahil's drink of the day. Sahil described how he came up with the idea while thinking about Mexican mole sauce and he wanted to recreated the flavors using crème de cacao, Ancho Reyes, and Angostura Bitters for the chocolate, pepper, and cinnamon notes, respectively. For a name, I dubbed it the Santa Rosa after the convent in Puebla that one legend cites as the sauce's creation in the 16th century.
The Santa Rosa began with orange oil over smoke notes on the nose. The rich sip was followed by mezcal, pepper heat, and clove on the swallow with a smoke and cinnamon finish.