Christopher Longoria of restaurant 1760 in San Francisco devised this beautifully colored, wonderfully aromatic cocktail to highlight mezcal in a way that smooths out its rustic edges. It’s bright and sophisticated, not to mention wickedly strong. Explore more ways to make herb cocktails too.
What to buy: You’ll need a bottle of Hangar 1 Kaffir Lime Vodka and a moderately smoky mezcal, such as Del Maguey’s Vida.
Special equipment: A wooden muddler is best for crushing the basil, and a four-prong bar strainer is a handy tool.
- Yield: 1 drink
- Difficulty: Easy
- Total: 10 mins
- Active: 10 mins
- 2 medium basil leaves, plus 1 small leaf for garnishing
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
- 1/2 ounce lime vodka
- 3/4 ounce mezcal
- 1 ounce tequila blanco
- 1/2 ounce Cointreau
- 1 egg white
- Ice
- Pinch of celery seed, for garnish
Instructions
- Place a coupe glass in the freezer to chill.
- Place the medium basil leaves, lime juice, and sugar in a cocktail shaker; muddle vigorously. Add the vodka, mezcal, tequila, Cointreau, and egg white. Shake vigorously without ice (this emulsifies the egg white, also known as a “dry shake”).
- Fill the shaker halfway with ice. Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is frosty.
- Double-strain into the chilled glass (a bar strainer set over a small sieve is perfect). Garnish with the celery seed and a small basil leaf.