A couple of years ago, one of the best (and most expensive) RTD cocktails hit the market: the Gold Fashioned, created by the esteemed Chicago bartender and bar owner Robert Haynes. He’s now part of a company called Hoste which just released a new luxury RTD that lives up to the hype of the previous one: the Mezcal Negroni.
The classic Negroni is one of the simplest and most beloved cocktails in the world, a combination of equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari. But there are endless variations on the standard that can include base spirits like rum, tequila, whiskey, or mezcal. The latter happens to be a nice substitute for gin because its intrinsically earthy and smoky character works well with the sweetness of the vermouth and the bitterness of the Campari.
For this new bottled Mezcal Negroni, Hoste partnered with Pablo Jiménez, head bartender at the Oaxacan restaurant Los Pacos. It wasn’t just the gin that was swapped out, however–Jiménez and the Hoste team came up with a recipe that incorporates other small batch spirits as well. The mezcal is an ensemble, specifically a blend of Espadin and Barril agave varietals, that was produced by Paquera Mezcal in Oaxaca. The sweet vermouth comes from Little City Vermouth in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Instead of Campari, a tamarind liqueur infused with hibiscus, orange peel, and Mexican oregano, among many other botanicals was used. Finally, mole bitters were added to the drink to bring some more Oaxacan flavor to the recipe, and like the Gold Fashioned an orange zest atomizer is included for you to spritz over your glass.
A 750-ml bottle of the Mezcal Negroni costs $80, putting this RTD firmly into the premium range, albeit not quite as expensive as the $150 Gold Fashioned. It’s bottled at 35 percent ABV, and each bottle contains ten servings that are best poured over ice and spritzed with the atomizer. You can find the Mezcal Negroni for sale online at Hoste now, along with the Gold Fashioned and Martini.
