Cocktail of the Month: Golden Hour in the Garden of Good & Evil

This cocktail can go two ways. It’s a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Cocktail, if you will. Do you want it refreshing and herbal? Or do you want it smoky and a little sinful?

Golden Hour in the Garden of Good & Evil

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz tequila OR mezcal (here’s the good or evil part)

• 1 oz St-Germain elderflower liqueur

• 2 oz pineapple juice

• 1 oz lime juice

• 1 oz agave

• Mint for muddling

• Soda to fill

• Ice

Mezcal is a complicated spirit. I always say to my bar guests who have never tried it, mezcal to tequila is the equivalent of scotch to bourbon. It’s the smoky, complex cousin. If you aren’t familiar or are attempting to train your palate to enjoy mezcal’s unique flavor, try it for the first time in this cocktail. The St-Germain and pineapple will mute some of the more severe edges of the spirit, making it pleasantly drinkable.

All that to say, if I were making this one for myself, I’d prefer tequila. Tequila screams summer to me. My years in Texas have made it the liquor I now consume the most. My New York years were for gin. My Vegas years were all whiskey. And now? Texas and tequila. Enjoy this in your garden. Or come visit me in San Antonio and I’ll make it for you. Exactly as good or evil as you prefer.

Preparation:

• Muddle the mint in your mixing glass or tin

  
  

• Add ice, spirits, juices, and agave

  
  

• Shake gently, as to avoid bruising the mint

  
  

• Dirty pour into a Collins glass (to dirty pour or dirty dump: do not strain—you want the mint in the glass you will be drinking from)

  
  

• Top with soda, garnish with more mint, and enjoy in the garden.