Six refreshing go-to mezcal cocktails for summer

Mezcal’s smokiness adds a touch of summer—think campfires and grilling—to six very different, very drinkable cocktails.

WE LIKE TEQUILA, BUT WE LOVE MEZCAL. The smoke infused into it during the fire pit roasting of the key ingredient, agave piñas, elevates mezcal’s flavor for us, whether sipping it over ice or mixing it in a cocktail. In fact, a couple of the recipes here are adapted from ones usually made with tequila.

Absent Friends Mezcal Cocktail

Thoughts of our first night in Mexico City, back in the before times when we were seriously traveling, inspired Marion to create the drink pictured above. Mezcal supplies the smoke and Ancho Reyes liqueur some fire in this summery, spicy, cucumber-y cocktail.

Garnet and Smoke

Tea brewed from dried hibiscus blossoms is a popular drink in Mexico, especially for children. For us grown-ups, hibiscus tea stars in Garnet and Smoke, a refreshing, herbaceous cocktail, which also features cilantro, lime juice, simple syrup and club soda.

Nectarine Campfire

Stone fruits are one of the primal pleasures of summer, and they’re starting to show up in the market. Here, sweet, juicy nectarines combine with smoky mezcal and basil to create a cocktail that tastes like its name—Nectarine Campfire.

Spicy Mezcal Margarita

If you want to try swapping mezcal for tequila, a margarita is a great place to start. The mezcal is muddled with jalapeño in this version to add some fire to the smoke. And adding chile powder and cayenne pepper to the traditional salt rim gives more heat to this spicy mezcal margarita.

Mezcal Mule

Mezcal can stand in for other spirits too. Here, it fills in for vodka and gets topped with a chile/cayenne mix to turn the classic Moscow Mule into a refreshing, lively Mezcal Mule.

Smoky Paloma

According to Bon Appétit, the Paloma is Mexico’s most beloved drink, not the Margarita. With inspiration from the Barrel, our favorite neighborhood bar, we turned this tequila-grapefruit-soda classic into a smoky, herbal, mezcal-real-grapefruit-juice summer delight.