Mezcal Copitas with Tangerine-Persimmon Shots

Having a little sip of Mezcal or Tequila just seems fit to celebrate the Day of the Dead, after all it’s a day to celebrate the memory of our loved ones and what better than this very special drink to do it, I’m sure my grandfathers would have approved!.

For those who don’t know Mezcal, is an agave based liquor with a very distinctive smoky and earthy flavour, made similarly to Tequila but when Tequila can only be made from one type of agave plant and produced only in the town with the same name, Mezcal can be made of many different varieties of agave and produced in different parts of the country which makes every mezcal very unique.

I’m really happy that mezcal is having a bit of a moment and it’s also getting some recognition outside of Mexico as well as Tequila has.

I think gone are the days when cheap Tequila and Mezcal was just used to get drunk , nowadays people appreciate more a good Mezcal or Tequila and recognise the quality just as if you were drinking a single malt aged scotch. My friend Paola who works distributing premium Tequilas and Mezcales in London, always say: “Mezcal or Tequila will treat you the way you treat them” and she cannot be more right , so sit back and enjoy the wonderful aromas and flavour of a good Mezcal, sip and enjoy, salud!

Makes about 15 juice shots.

Ingredients:

9 Tangerines

4 ripe persimmons or 2 mangoes.

1 medium piece of ginger.

1 1/2 lime .

Garnish

1/2 lime.

1/2 cup of agave work chilli salt.

Equipment:

Juicer.

Note: you get better results by using a juicer, but if you don’t have one what you can do is to blend all the ingredients and then strain the juice through a fine mesh sieve.

Method.

Prep your fruit and ginger ahead of time you can do this in the morning of the day of your party. Start by peeling your tangerines, then remove the skin of your persimmons with a sharp knife, for your ginger remove the skin with a tea spoon by scrapping it all over and for your lime cut off only the skin with a sharp knife.

Get your juicer ready and put all the ingredients in, you’ll get a delicious sweet fresh juice, that balances with the lime and with a ginger kick, pour it into a jug and keep it in your fridge until your guests arrive.

Once your guests arrive get 2 shot glasses per guest one for the mezcal and the other for your special juice mixture.

Rub a bit of lime juice on the side of the rim of the shot glasses where you will be pouring the juice and then press it against the agave worm chilli salt, this is easy if you place the chilli salt on a small plate so you can do shot by shot, repeat the same procedure with the rest of your shot glasses.

Serve a glass of a good Mezcal Joven or Reposado to your guests and a shot of the special juice mixture with the agave chilli worm salt on the side, this works great as a welcome drink and to entertain your guests while you get those last minute details ready or simply to warm up for a good evening, don’t forget to sip and enjoy!