Bartender Clay Taylor’s June Bug takes inspiration from the insect’s role as a harbinger of summer—appearing right around Juneteenth. The drink, a combination of smoky mezcal, Byrrh, tart cherry and tarragon shrub and walnut bitters, “reminds me of summer cookouts during my time in the South with friends and family,” says Taylor.
June Bug
Clay Taylor | New York

Ingredients
Serving: 1
- 1 1/2 ounces mezcal
- 1/2 ounce Byrrh
- 2 ounces cherry tarragon shrub (see Editor's Note)
- 3 dashes Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a shaker tin and shake with several large ice cubes.
- Double strain into a rocks glass rimmed with pink peppercorn salt over crushed ice.