Bijou Gabor

Adapted from a recipe by Conor Brummett, East Bay Spice Co., Berkeley

1½ oz Don Amado Mezcal Rústico
½ oz Green Chartreuse
½ oz Ancho Reyes
½ oz sweet vermouth
1 dash orange bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange zest.


Bloody Maria

Adapted from a recipe by David Driscoll, The Spirits Journal

2 oz Don Amado Mezcal Rústico
6 oz tomato juice cocktail
¾ oz lime juice
some spicy peppers
Black pepper
Tajin spice (the secret for this recipe)

Build this in your glass. Muddle the peppers into the tomato juice cocktail, add the rest of the ingredients, top up with ice and gently roll everything into another glass and then back again. Garnish as desired.


Caballero Loco

Scott's, Oakland

1 oz Don Amado Mezcal Reposado
1 oz Hennessy VS Cognac
¾ oz Crème de Cassis
½ oz agave nectar
¾ oz lime juice

Shake with ice, then strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a lime wedge.


Camino Sour

Camino, Oakland

1½ oz Don Amado Mezcal Rústico
¾ oz lemon juice
¾ oz orange juice
½ oz agave nectar
Egg white

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with orange and lemon slices.


Face Down in Saigon

Adapted from a recipe by Hannah An, The District, Los Angeles

2 oz Don Amado Mezcal Reposado
¾ oz lime juice
1 oz cinnamon syrup (use B.G. Reynolds or homemade, recipe follows)

Cinnamon Syrup: In a saucepan over medium heat, lightly toast 3 cinnamon sticks, crushed lightly to expose more surface area to the heat. Crush again, but don’t pulverize. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 1/2 cups water, then simmer over low heat 10 minutes, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cool & let steep two hours, then double-strain through a couple layers of dampened cheesecloth into an airtight container. Keep refrigerated. Will last about two months.

Shake ingredients with ice, strain onto fresh ice in a rocks glass garnish with a cinnamon stick and ground cinnamon.


Green Thumb

Adapted from a recipe by Polina Kharnas, Tigerlily, Berkeley
2 oz Don Amado Mezcal Rústico
1 barspoon green Chartreuse
1 barspoon rich demerara syrup (2:1)
Shake with ice, then strain into a cocktail glass. Top with 5 dashes Lavender Bitters, garnish with a lemon twist.

I Smoke My Friends Down to the Filter

The Red Hen, Washington, D.C.
1 oz Don Amado Mezcal Rústico
1 oz Campari
1 oz Punt e Mes
¼ oz fresh lemon juice
Combine all ingredients and stir with ice. Strain into a rocks glass over a single rock. Garnish with an orange zest.

La Rosa Prieta

Spitz, Los Angeles
2 oz Don Amado Mezcal Rústico
¾ oz St-Germain
½ oz lime juice
½ oz simple syrup
2 oz of grapefruit juice
Shake with ice and strain into Collins glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Mayahuel

Adapted from a recipe by Helena Tiare Olsen, New Orleans
1½ oz Don Amado Mezcal Rústico
¾ oz pineapple juice
1 barspoon coffee liqueur
¼ oz orgeat
Shake with ice and strain into a tumbler over crushed ice. Garnish with a pineapple spear, pineapple leaf, and brandied cherry.

BB Cooler

Adapted from a recipe by Carlos Yturria, Abinsthe, San Francisco
1½ oz Don Amado Mezcal Rústico
4 blackberries
3 small basil leaves
1 oz lemon juice
½ oz Simple Syrup
Muddle lemon juice, berries, and 2 basil leaves in a mixing glass. Add mezcal, simple syrup, and ice, then shake. Strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Garnish with the remaining basil leaf. Clap the leaf between your hands to release its aromatics before garnishing.

Oaxacan on Trinidad

Adapted from a recipe by Adam Stemmler, Berkeley
¾ oz Don Amado Mezcal Rústico
¾ oz Angostura bitters
¾ oz Lemon juice
1 oz Small Hand Foods pineapple gum syrup
Shake with ice, then strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Don's Hut

Adapted from a recipe by David Valiante, Social, Costa Mesa
1 ¼ oz Panamá-Pacific 9 Year rum
¾ oz Don Amado Reposado Mezcal
1 oz passion fruit syrup
½ oz Velvet Falernum
½ oz Lime
¾ oz Grapefruit
2 dashes Boy Drinks World Passion Fruit Bitters (or orange bitters)
Shake with crushed ice and strain into a tiki mug over fresh ice. Garnish with a lime
wedge.

Viejo Amor

Adapted from a recipe by Travis Brown
1 ¼ oz Selección de ArteNOM 1146 Tequila
¾ oz Don Amado Mezcal Reposado
½ oz Amargo-Angostura Vallet
½ oz chipotle-cinnamon agave syrup
Chipotle-Cinnamon Agave Syrup: Chop 4 or 5 dried chipotle peppers (not canned in adobo). Dry-toast in a saucepan over low hear until aromatic. Lightly crush 1 five-inch long Ceylon cinnamon stick and add to the pan along with 12 oz agave nectar and 4 oz water. Simmer over low heat for five minutes, then cool to room temperature. Strain through a damp cheesecloth into an airtight container.
Shake with ice, then strain into Old Fashioned over fresh ice. Garnish with an orange zest.