New Cocktails: the Barker

This drink is a simple twist on the Proclaimer cocktail from Cocktail VirginSlut.

Barker
0.75 oz mezcal
0.75 oz King's Ginger liqueur
0.75 oz lemon juice
0.5 oz honey syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
6 drops Herbsaint/absinthe

The nose is mostly composed of lemon oil and the mezcal's earthy/vegetal smoke, which is joined by the herbal/licorice notes of the Herbsaint. The sip opens with honey sweetness from the syrup and liqueur, but is quickly checked by the lemon juice and liqueur's ginger bite, segueing into a malty and herbal interlude. The finish is bittersweet and smoky, passing pleasantly with renewed licorice notes.

For being composed of pretty burley ingredients, everything in this cocktail plays pretty nicely with each other. Substituting ginger liqueur for Drambuie worked pretty well. The liqueur doesn't have Drambuie's smoke, but the ginger gives the drink a different kind of zip. I added a bit of Herbsaint both to put the drink more on point with the mezcal's smoke and push it in more of an herbal direction, as alone it can smell a bit rubbery. However, you can drop the pastis if you'd like less emphasis on the mezcal.