We saw this recipe a couple of years ago and thought it looked completely crazy but equally intriguing. Fast forward two years, we are highlighting the use of ginger in cocktails- and this recipe popped into our heads! Hurrah! Finally a proper excuse to make this drink.
Created in 2006 by Stephen Wicker who works at the Raleigh Bar in Miami, we followed his recipe exactly, from the ginger syrup to the saline solution.
If you like smokey, bitter and sour flavour profiles, you'll love this.
Mezcal
Now, if you haven't used Mezcal before, we urge you to try it. So many people in the UK have a pre-conception that tequila is awful. That's most likely because of the cheap tat we get served as shots and that m your stomach churn. (USA, you're way ahead of us in the tequila game!)
Well, for those that don't know, tequila is a type of Mezcal. Mezcal is actually defined as any agave-based spirit, whereas tequila is made in a specific part of Mexico and has to be made from Blue Agave.
Mezcal Pits (hornos)
They are also produced differently. Tequila is made by steaming the agave inside ovens, then distilling in copper pots. Traditional Mezcal is made by cooking the agave hearts (piñas) in small pits in the ground (hornos) that are lined with stones and filled with wood and charcoal. Agave fibres cover the pit, so the piñas are steamed. It is then distilled in clay pots. The smokey flavour of Mezcal is from a combination of cooking in the pits and distilling in the clay pots.
In this recipe, we used QuiQuiRiqui, but we also love Pensador Mezcal.
Also, don't skip on the saline solution. It might sound a bit odd, but it's really not. Think of how salt highlights most recipes. The benefit of making a solution rather than just a pinch of salt, is that you can measure the exact amount it. It's also really handy for drinks where the salt may not dissolve. We have reused an old dropper bottle that we had stevia in, and keep ours in the fridge. It lasts a couple of months. (Add a couple of drops of saline solution to your espresso martini- you can thank us later.)
Recipe
45ml QuiQuiRiqui Mezcal
15ml Aperol
15ml Ginger Syrup (homemade- see recipe below)
22.5ml Fresh Lime Juice
22.5ml Pineapple Juice (we used Frobishers)
2 drops saline solution (or a pinch of salt) (homemade- see recipe below)
Method
Simply shake all of the ingredients with ice and fine strain into a chilled coupette.
Homemade Ginger Syrup
Ginger Syrup Recipe:
250g organic raw cane sugar*
250ml water
200g sliced fresh ginger
Dissolve the sugar in the water over a low heat. Add the ginger. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.
Strain into a sterilised ottle, seal and refrigerate. Most recipes say it lasts one month in the fridge- but ours has been fine for a couple of months!
*We have tried syrups made with stevia and erythritol (available in the supermarket) and they unfortunately crystalise. Therefore we have made this with the best sugar we could find- organic raw cane sugar.
Saline Solution Recipe:
250ml distilled or boiled water (boil for at least 20 mins)
1/2 tsp salt
Simply dissolve the salt and put in a sterilised bottle, seal and refrigerated.