m&m colada

1 1/4 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 1/4 oz Amaro Montenegro
1 1/4 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned or Tiki mug, top with crushed ice, and garnish with freshly grated cinnamon. After writing up the Piña Verde for the blog earlier in the day, I began to wonder what other Piña Colada riffs had not been done. I have previously had a variety of unique riffs like the Ferrari Colada, so I wondered why not an M&M (Mezcal-Montenegro) Colada? I had already had success tinkering with the mezcal-Montenegro motif in the Trash Vaudeville and Oaxacan Lady and a bit more abstractly in the Songs My Mother Taught Me, so away I crafted. Since Montenegro has clementine-cinnamon notes, I figured that bolstering that spice aspect with cinnamon syrup and a cinnamon dust garnish would work, and mezcal drinks are frequently better with molé bitters. I worked with the Piña Verde's lime juice-containing recipe skeleton to craft the M&M Colada. Once mixed, it offered up a cinnamon bouquet to the nose. Next, a creamy pineapple and lime sip worked its way into vegetal, smoky, clementine, coconut, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.