Food - Drink
What Makes The Oaxacan Old Fashioned Unique?
By NIKITA EPHANOV
You may know mezcal as “tequila’s smoky cousin,” but the liquor is much more than that, producing a shocking range of diversity and nuance depending on everything from ambient yeast to terroir. Although mezcal is often sipped neat, there’s no better foray into mezcal mixology than the Oaxacan Old Fashioned.
Made with reposado tequila, mezcal, and bitters, the Oaxacan Old Fashioned was created in 2007 by Phil Ward and quickly became a modern classic. While working at Death & Co., a celebrated Manhattan speakeasy, Ward began experimenting with mezcal; first came a daiquiri with a Mexican twang then came the mezcal Old Fashioned and the rest is history.
The Oaxacan Old Fashioned is made with one and a half ounces of reposado tequila — which alludes to the aged flavors of whiskey— half an ounce of espadin mezcal — chosen for its range of aromas and approachable flavor for the uninitiated —a spoon of agave nectar and a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters, served over ice and garnished with an orange peel.
