Death & Co, New York, 2007.
| 1½ oz · 45 ml | REPOSADO TEQUILA | 40 % |
| ½ oz · 15 ml | MEZCAL | 45 % |
| 1 barspoon | AGAVE NECTAR | |
| 2 dashes | MOLE BITTERS | 47 % |
| 1 dash | ANGOSTURA BITTERS | 44 % |
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
| Pre-batch | 2.26 oz mixed with ice, 0.87 oz of it pure alcohol |
|---|---|
| Melt | Stirred: +15 % of the pre-batch, +0.34 oz of water |
| Served | 2.26 + 0.34 = 2.6 oz in the glass |
| Strength | 0.87 ÷ 2.6 = 33.3 % ABV as served |
| Ethanol | 0.87 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 20 g · about 142 kcal from the alcohol alone |
FROM MEZCAL · the smoky phenolic note
The smoke molecule. In peated scotch from burning peat over the malted barley; in mezcal from the underground roasting pit; in barbecue, smoked paprika, and bonfires. One molecule covering campfire, Islay whisky, and good carnitas. The brain files all three under "fire."
FROM REPOSADO · from oak barrel aging
Bourbon's fingerprint, extracted from the charred American oak the law requires for aging. Same molecule as the vanilla bean's signature, so a well-aged bourbon legitimately tastes like vanilla. Chemistry, not metaphor. Cognac, aged rum, tequila reposado all extract vanillin from oak too. Different barrels, same molecule.
ALSO IN Old Fashioned · Manhattan · Whiskey Sour · Paper Plane · Boulevardier · Sazerac · Espresso Martini · Mai Tai
FROM MOLE BITTERS · the cinnamon spice
The aldehyde that makes cinnamon taste like cinnamon, roughly 90% of cinnamon bark oil by volume. Triggers TRPA1 (the "wasabi receptor") at high doses, which is why Red Hots burn and a cinnamon stick steeped too long in mulled wine turns acrid. Cassia cinnamon (the common grocery-store kind) carries more than the milder Ceylon variety.
ALSO IN Hot Toddy · Hot Buttered Rum · Tom and Jerry · Mulled Wine · Tommy Gun
Reposado tequila, mezcal, agave, mole bitters and Angostura. Phil Ward's 'double-agave' Old Fashioned carries guaiacol from mezcal's smoked piña and ethyl octanoate from the reposado. Mole bitters add cacao and cinnamon that bridge the two agaves.
Phil Ward created the Oaxaca Old Fashioned at Death & Co in 2007. The 'double-agave' approach (reposado for backbone, mezcal for smoke) was novel in cocktail bartending at the time; both spirits had been treated as solo bases or absent altogether. Ward's printed spec used Angostura alone; the Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters many bars now add were also new, created by Avery Glasser in 2007 and released in 2009, and they lean into the chocolate-agave pairing.
