"I love Raymond Chandler. His book The Long Goodbye is kind of a love letter to bars, and gimlets, and doing things the right way. And he wrote that book here in San Diego. It's a little bit funny, 'cause one of the things Chandler says in the book is that bartenders will put all of this stuff together and call it a gimlet, but there's only one way to make a gimlet — that's gin and Rose's lime juice. And of course we're using neither gin nor Rose's lime juice, so it's kind of a twisted tribute.
"This drink also happens to have an incredibly long, smoky finish, so it's appropriate for the name, but I confess it was a happy accident. The culinary interest in mezcal is really so much about the different flavors of the agave, the different flavors of the smoke from different woods, and the different ways the palenques make the product. Joven mezcal is where the action is. In the U.S., you can buy some aged mezcals, but I rarely see it in Mexico. We use a young blanco variety to show the raw essence of mezcal." —Jay Porter, El Take It Easy, San Diego
The Long Goodbye (Mezcal Gimlet)
2 oz mezcal blanco (80 proof)
1 oz fresh lime juice (approx. 1 lime)
1/2 oz mint syrup*
Pour ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
*To make the mint syrup, simmer 40 fresh mint leaves in 32 oz simple syrup (1:1 sugar and water) for 30 minutes.
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