Agave Month 2024 – Valle Local
For the start of Agave Month 2024, I have something special for you. On one hand, the drink has mezcal as a base and on the other hand a green mandarin eau de vie. On top of that, the recipe is based on the Last Word cocktail.
My friend Manuel Engel discovered the Phlegraean mandarin on Ischia in his search for the perfect mandarin. The special variety is also part of current research. Naturally, Manuel turned the fruits into an eau de vie through macerating in neutral alcohol and distilling it. The eau de vie is bottled at an ABV of 40 %.
Citrussy and mandarin
I created the recipe some time ago and cannot really tell how I came up with it. Yet, it took me until now to mix it. At the last minute, I switched out the second mezcal in the original recipe for the green mandarin eau de vie. Apart from that, I also thought that the drink needed some bitters and went with the Mezcal based ones by Dr. Sours.
1,5 cl Engel Green Mandarin Eau de Vie
3 cl Cocchi Americano
3 cl Chartreuse M.O.F.S.
2 Dashes Dr. Sours Manganero Bitters
3 cl Lime Juice
Shake – strain – chilled Cocktail glass ;
Garnish: Orange Twist;
Song: José González – Valle Local;
The ‘Valle Local’ starts with typical Last Word notes. Yet, instantly the mezcal shines through with support of the mandarin eau de vie. The lime and the Cocchi give the drink a nice backbone. In the aftertaste, you can find the slightest whiff of exotic fruits, too.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The eau de vie was provided by Engel Naturbrennerei.
