“Mezcal was always seen as a smoke bomb and a really aggressive flavor,” says Mary Palac, “and every time you see it in a drink it’s usually in a spicy Margarita; I wanted to try something a little more delicate.” Inspired by Dick Bradsell’s modern classic, the Bramble, Palac achieves a similarly craveable combination of agave spirit, lemon juice and pineapple gum syrup. It’s topped with a float of violet liqueur, which gives it the gunmetal-gray appearance that inspired the name. “I remember smelling the mezcal and thinking immediately of flowers, so I tried it with the violet [liqueur],” she says.
Gunmetal Fix
Mary Palac, Paper Plane | San Jose, CA
Ingredients
Serving: 1
- 1 3/4 ounces mezcal, preferably Del Maguey Vida
- 3/4 ounce lemon juice
- 3/4 ounce pineapple gum syrup, preferably Small Hand Foods
- 2 dashes rhubarb bitters, preferably Fee Brothers
- 1/2 ounce Bitter Truth Violet Liqueur
Garnish: lemon wheel
Directions
- Combine all ingredients, except violet liqueur, in a double rocks glass over crushed ice.
- Stir to integrate.
- Top with violet liqueur.
- Garnish with lemon wheel.