4 tequila and mezcal cocktails from Evelyn Chick's new recipe book
At your next gathering, whip up these easy tequila and mezcal cocktails from globally acclaimed beverage expert Evelyn Chick's new recipe book, For the Love of Cocktails.
With all of the fancy, gastronomic, $20 cocktails in the city, and the abundance of cocktail bars in Toronto, simply serving a tequila soda at gatherings just doesn't cut it. To really wow friends and family during the holidays and beyond, we need to take our tequila cocktails to the next level. And with all of the increasing hype around mezcal, knowing how to whip up a few mezcal cocktails doesn't hurt either.
Here to help us up our home bartending game, globally acclaimed beverage expert and owner of Simpl Things, Evelyn Chick has launched her first book of cocktail recipes. For the Love of Cocktails: The Everyday Guide to Delightful Drinks for Anyone, Anytime is a stylish, modern tome full of easy-to-follow recipes and tips and tools of the trade. Ingredients you see on menus everywhere but never quite understand, like cordials and shrubs, are demystified and simplified.
Divided up into different moods, For the Love of Cocktails runs the gamut from tequila and mezcal cocktails to light gin sippers and whisky winter warmers. Non-alcoholic and cannabis cocktails make an appearance as well. Chick's playful and creative cocktails have the power to brighten up any occasion.
Here, Chick shares four of her recipes for tequila and mezcal cocktails from her book. Serve them at your next gathering and bask in the compliments from your guests.
Evelyn Chick's S’up Wit Dat? mezcal cocktail
Jessica Blaine Smith
Makes 1
Preparation time 5 minutes
"A vibrant blend of intriguing flavours inspired by my trips to Oaxaca in southwestern Mexico, this cocktail is a modified version of one of the famed cocktails I made for an experimental cocktail bar I helped create. Loaded with herbal and smoky qualities that are balanced by the freshness of cucumbers and pine, the guests you serve this to will be happily asking you, 'S’up wit dat?'"
Ingredients
1 ½ oz Sombra Mezcal
½ oz Spanish dry vermouth
¾ oz cucumber lime cordial
½ oz lime juice
4 dashes pine and spruce tincture
Cucumber ribbon, for garnish
Maldon salt, for garnish
Method
In a cocktail shaker, combine all ingredients but the cucumber ribbon and Maldon salt.
Add enough ice to cover the liquid in the shaker, plus a bit more.
Cover and shake vigorously for 10–15 seconds.
Strain through a Hawthorne strainer into a 12-oz rocks glass over a large ice cube.
Garnish with the cucumber ribbon dipped in Maldon salt.
"An explosion of berry flavours paired with reposado tequila, this sangria-inspired punch is too good to last the entire party! My mother used to make sangria with cinnamon-infused orange juice, cassis and boxed wine. While I always thought it was an amazing party trick, I never admitted that to her. So, this is an ode to my mother and the many pitchers of sangria I snuck a taste from. Have fun and make lots of substitutions — anything goes with this one."
Ingredients
4 cups mixed berries, such as blackberries and raspberries
10 oz Patron Reposado Tequila
20 oz dry red wine
2 cinnamon sticks
½ orange, sliced into wheels
5 oz vanilla agave syrup
10 oz acid adjusted pineapple juice
20 oz premium soda
Method
In a large punch bowl (at least 128 oz in volume), combine mixed berries, tequila and wine. Take a wooden spoon and gently mash the berries and let sit for at least 1 hour.
Add cinnamon sticks, orange slices, syrup and juice, and give it a stir.
Add a large ice chunk or a couple of large ice cubes and pour in the soda. Serve immediately by ladling the cocktail into rocks glasses filled with ice.
TIP: This is an easy one to play with. No berries? Use peaches. No red? Use white. Be creative and don’t be shy in exploring flavour pairings!
Evelyn Chick's Hops ’n’ Robbers tequila cocktail
Jessica Blaine Smith
Makes 1
Preparation time 5 minutes
"This simple sour celebrates the outstanding craft beer culture in Toronto. Some florality, cocoa, and deep bitterness make this a fantastic sipper for any day. I particularly love the pairing of hops with the earthiness of a reposado tequila, which contributes some vanilla and woody quality to this sour."
Ingredients
1 oz Tromba Reposado Tequila
¾ oz Braulio Amaro Alpino
½ oz IPA reduction
1 oz lemon juice
4 drops Ms. Better’s Bitters Miraculous Foamer*
3 drops Bittered Sling Grapefruit & Hops Bitters
Grapefruit twist, for garnish
*The Miraculous Foamer used in this recipe is a vegan alternative to using egg whites. If you choose to substitute egg whites for the foamer, the 4 drops is equivalent to one egg white. Follow the directions above and the drink will froth just the same.
Method
In a cocktail shaker, combine all ingredients but the grapefruit twist.
Cover and dry shake without ice to aerate the liquid and create a bit of frothiness.
Add enough ice to cover the liquid in the shaker, plus a bit more.
Cover and shake vigorously for 10–15 seconds.
Strain through a Hawthorne strainer into a 12-oz rocks glass over a large ice cube.
Garnish with the grapefruit twist.
Evelyn Chick's Mama Rosa mezcal cocktail
Makes 1
Preparation time 5 minutes
"During my travels in Oaxaca, Mexico, the small family-run mezcalarias, called palenques, were often my favorite place to stop. The caretaker of the family, mostly often the mother or grandmother, would be making fresh tortillas in the back while proudly displaying their family’s land and offerings to their guests.
This 'all things pink' cocktail is smoky, fruit forward, and filled with warmth and earthiness, and is dedicated to the mamas of the palenques. The hibiscus and pink peppercorn flavours provide a burst of tartness that also carries an incredible floral punch."
Ingredients
1 ½ oz espadin mezcal
½ oz Martini Riserva Speciale Bitter
½ oz hibiscus and pink peppercorn rich syrup
¾ oz acid adjusted grapefruit juice
2 drops saline solution
Long grapefruit twist, for garnish
Method
In a cocktail shaker, combine all ingredients but the grapefruit twist.
Add enough ice to cover the liquid in the shaker, plus a bit more.
Cover and shake vigorously for 10–15 seconds.
Strain through a Hawthorne strainer into an 8-oz coupe glass.
