Mezcal cocktails

Mezcal also comes from agave, but the hearts are roasted in underground wood-fired pits, and that smoke stays in the bottle for good. It is not smoked tequila — it is a different drink, with a far wider range of agaves and a much more artisanal production.

In cocktails the smoke is an ingredient like any other, and it needs to be treated as one. Mezcal will steamroll a delicate drink, but it lifts any recipe that can take intensity: swap half the tequila in your Margarita and you will see what we mean. That half-and-half is the easiest way in without overdoing it.