Now Drinking: Black Mountain Bandito

A last minute cocktail post in honor of Cocktail Day!  I have completely exhausted my monthly booze budget, but I had to make this one... Tonight I'm drinking my all-time-favorite cocktail: a Black Mountain Bandito!

This drink was created by The Dime bar in Gainesville FL, and ever since having one there, I've been making copycats at home. Pretty happy with my homemade recipe so far. I use the same ingredients as The Dime, though the ratios may need some more tweaking.  Here's my version:

Black Mountain Bandito

- 1½ oz Amaro Montenegro

- ½ oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur

- 1 oz Mezcal

- 1 orange peel

Pour ingredients into a rocks glass over ice (one big cube works best here) and stir.

Flame an orange peel over the drink, and drop in.

This cocktail is boozy with a smokiness you get on the exhale after you sip, and I find that this is balanced nicely with the botanical Montenegro.  I'm no sommelier though, so that's pretty much the depth of my analysis haha.  

Happy drinking!

Now Drinking: Poison Apple

A simple drink that can be mixed or drank as a depth charge

Ingredients:

- 2 parts Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur 

- 6 parts Hard Cider of choice

Recipe:

Pour chilled cider into pint glass. Then, pour in Ancho Reyes and mix. 

(To drink as a depth charge, drop a shot glass of Ancho Reyes into a pint of cider and chug)

I'm pretty sure I got this recipe from Ancho Reyes' website years ago, but I haven't been able to find it there or anywhere else online.  Which is a shame, because I quite like the drink!  Nice to sip, with a spicy kick. Gets that buzz going a little faster than your standard cider, which I'll never complain about.

Now Drinking: Sleepy Hollow

Been meaning to try this cocktail for a year or more now...  Just tried it out for the first time last night.  Pretty good! Smokey and spicy (and boozy).  Definitely my kind of cocktail.

Ingredients:

¼ ounce absinthe

2 ounces mezcal

1 ounce St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Rosemary sprig, for garnish

Directions

Pour absinthe into a rocks glass; swirl to coat, and discard liqueur.

Fill a stirring glass with ice, then add mezcal, St. Elizabeth, and 2 dashes of Angostura bitters. Strain cocktail into a rocks glass over ice. Light rosemary with a lighter or culinary torch until smoking and place it in the glass. Serve immediately.

Image and original recipe source