cigar box

2 oz Mezcal (Fidencio)
1/4 oz Lapsang Souchong Tea Syrup (*)
3 dash Scrappy's Lavender Bitters
3 dash Smoky Bitters (Crude's "Pooter" Smoke & Salt)

Build in a rocks glass, add ice, and stir. Garnish with an ignited cinnamon stick next to the drink.
(*) Strong 5 minute steep of tea mixed with an equal volume of sugar. Stir until dissolved.
Two Saturday nights ago, my phone died right before the cocktail hour which put me in a bit of a funk. So Sunday, I purchased a new cell phone and doubled up on the drinks to make up for the lost evening. The first drink that I made that evening was the Cigar Box from Brian Bartels' The United States of Cocktails. The recipe was crafted by Jason Lavenue of the Roosevelt Room in Austin, and it was originally made with tobacco bitters that the author replaced with a suggestion for bitters with a smoke element; my "Pooter" bitters from Crude was one of Bartels' recommendations. Once prepared, the Cigar Box gave forth a vegetal, smoke, and floral aroma to complement the dancing smoke trails from the smoldering cinnamon stick. Next, a roasted vegetal note on the sip led into mezcal and black tea on the swallow.