TASTE: Apricot + almonds lead in Sonia Castellani’s subtle SMOKE SHOW
Hamlet & Ghost Bar Director Sonia Castellani takes mezcal in a softly subtle direction with almond and apricot liqueurs.
Interview: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Victoria Sedefian/The Dishing
Location: Hamlet & Ghost, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
The cocktail: Smoke Show
Ingredients: Equal parts: Mezcal, lime, velvet falernum, and apricot Giffard.
The inspiration/backstory: “I wanted to make an approachable mezcal drink. I was just getting into mezcal and wanted to create something that wasn’t super harsh, and also had some fruit-forward smoke qualities. A lot of my ideas come to me late at night, right before I fall asleep, and this was one I kind of thought of before going to bed.
At the time, my best friend Victoria was really into Velvet Falernum, so I knew I wanted to use it in something. From there, I started playing around with a drink I’d made before and kind of “Mr. Potato Headed” it by swapping in ingredients I thought would work and then testing it the next day.
The apricot and almond notes weren’t intentional in a “this should taste like cake” way, but I love that it kind of gives that warm nostalgic vibe that paired naturally with the mezcal. It just ended up working. This cocktail was on the menu years back, but we still sell it a lot. People come in and ask for it. It’s a great balance of warm baking spices, apricot, and smoke.”
The build: Add all your ingredients to a tin. Fill with ice, shake, strain into a coup. Garnish with a lime twist.
