mexico city blues

3/4 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz London Dry Gin (Beefeater)
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Amaro Braulio
1/2 oz Benedictine
2 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube. Two Sundays ago, I got inspired by recalling the mezcal-gin combination which made more sense to me once I saw juniper trees growing in the agave fields in Oaxaca in January 2023 and had Gracias a Dios Agave Gin from Oaxaca on the Josephine bar shelf a few months later. That duo had me finding the recipes and mashing up the Kerouac with Benedictine and the Thieves in the Night with Braulio. I originally tried a 1:1:1/2:1/2 structure akin to the Big Spender, but that turned out a little thin. I then added a little sweet vermouth to the mix which helped, but it came together more with Punt e Mes when I started again fresh. For a name, I dubbed this one Mexico City Blues after one of Jack Kerouac's short stories. In the glass, the drink showcased caramel, pine, and chocolate aromas. Next, caramel and grape notes mingled on the sip before flowing into vegetal, pine, chocolate, grapefruit zest, herbal, and smoke flavors on the swallow.