Cocktail recipe
Mezcal Margarita
The Margarita steps into woodsmoke: agave, fresh lime and orange in crisp balance.
Ingredients
- 60 ml (2 oz) espadín mezcal
- 25 ml (⅚ oz) fresh lime juice
- 20 ml (⅔ oz) dry orange curaçao
- 10 ml (⅓ oz) agave syrup (1:1)
- Optional half-rim: 2 g flaky salt
- Garnish: 1 lime wheel
Preparation
If requested, moisten half the rim with lime and dip lightly in salt. Shake mezcal, lime, curaçao and agave syrup vigorously with ice. Strain over fresh cubes and finish with a lime wheel. Leave half the rim bare so each sip can be tasted with or without salt.
Glassware
Rocks glass, fresh cubed ice; optional half-salt rim
History
The Mezcal Margarita is best understood as a modern variation of the tequila Margarita, substituting a spirit made from roasted agave hearts. Mezcal has centuries of Mexican production history, but that does not establish a centuries-old Mezcal Margarita. No single inventor or defensible creation date for this specific variation has been identified. Its growing visibility tracks the late-20th- and early-21st-century international rediscovery of mezcal in cocktail bars. Recipes vary between all-mezcal and split tequila–mezcal builds, and between orange liqueur and agave sweeteners.
Mixology View
All-mezcal gives the clearest sense of place; a restrained agave accent keeps smoke from overwhelming lime. We explicitly present this as Mixology's house interpretation, not a purported historical original.