tragedy plus lime

1 oz Mezcal (Mezcal Union)
1/2 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
1/2 oz Jeppson's Malört
3/4 oz Grapefruit Liqueur (St. Elder)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1 pinch Salt

Shake with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube.

Two Wednesdays ago, I spotted the humorously named recipe Tragedy Plus Lime that was created by a S. Bumgarner. Not only was I lured in by the pun, but I was curious as to how grapefruit liqueur and other elements would work with Malört. The name was based on the quote "Comedy equals tragedy plus time" that has often been attributed to Mark Twain; however, Twain may have said, "Humor is tragedy plus time." Others have unearthed a 1957 interview with Steve Allen who declared, "Man jokes about the things that depress him, but he usually waits till a certain amount of time has passed... I guess you can make a mathematical formula out of it. Tragedy plus time equals comedy." Lenny Bruce put his own spin on it by saying, "Satire is tragedy plus time." Otherwise, one might ask "Too Soon?"The drink database entry had the description "A Malört Margarita for those summer afternoons tinged with a hint of regret." With that, I set off mixing. Tragedy Plus Lime met the nose with a smoky agave aroma that led into a dry grape and lime sip. Next, the swallow followed through with mezcal, bitter herbal, and grapefruit notes. Overall, the balance was very much on the dry side of things, but I kept returning to the glass for another sip.