If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll recognize this cocktail from several weeks ago—mid-August, actually. My New York girlfriends were in town for our weekend getaway to Sonoma, and before departing on Saturday we spent Friday evening in Cole Valley at a little restaurant called Padrecito. I ordered a drink called La Copa Verde, based on the recommendation of the waiter. I always ask the waiter or bartender for his or her recommendations—on cocktails, wine, food, everything. It’s perfect for enabling my lack of decision-making skills.
La Copa Verde was everything I was promised: tangy and herb-y with all that delicious smokiness from the mezcal. If you haven’t become obsessed with mezcal yet, you should start immediately. It has this sort of bold spunkiness to it that I can really appreciate. It’s what you drink when you want to seem sophisticated, but not pretentious. I know you know what I’m talking about.
Here’s a rundown of the ingredients you’ll need: cilantro, lime juice, simple syrup, mezcal, and chipotle chile pepper. Feel free to skip the pepper if you can’t handle the heat (wahhhh), but it does add a little something. I think Padrecito’s version has a secret ingredient I can’t quite place, but this adaptation is still quite similar.
Once the cilantro mixes with the mezcal and the chipotle, it becomes the perfect addition to a Mexican meal. It’s like a taco in a glass! But, in a really good, not weird way. Just trust me on this one. ¡Salud!
La Copa Verde
makes 2 cocktails
- 4 oz mezcal
- 1 oz simple syrup
- handful of cilantro leaves, stems removed
- 2 oz lime juice
- sprinkle of chipotle chile pepper
- ice
- coupe or martini glasses
Assembly
In a food processor, combine cilantro and lime juice. Puree. Run through a fine mesh strainer – some small bits of cilantro will pass through; that’s okay.
Add ice, mezcal, syrup and cilantro/lime mixture to shaker. Shake vigorously until cold and strain into coupe or martini glass. Garnish with a sprinkle of chipotle chile pepper.
Barware note: My shaker (not well-pictured here, but alas), is from this wonderful wine and spirits shop in Manhattan called Bottle Rocket. My coupe glasses were an am-az-ing $3 find at a place called Ohmega Salvage in Berkeley. Clear your whole afternoon before going; it’s a gem.
Skim + Sip
My favorite finds this week, boozy and otherwise
- I’ve been thinking a lot about this article on drinking in moderation while pregnant. I’m not going to lie: I will probably indulge in a glass of wine now and again when that time comes. Ladies: thoughts?
- Making it a mission to eat everything on this list of the 50 Things to Taste in Oakland Before You Die. I love food and lists, so this was a no-brainer.
- I’m heading to The Cheese School in San Francisco tomorrow for a cheese and wine pairing class with my dad. I gave him this as a gift for Christmas, which was really a present for me. Win-win.
- Working solo from home, I listen to a lot of podcasts. I am O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D with this new one from the creators of This American Life, called Serial. The season covers one murder case, each week uncovering a little more of the mystery. It. is. everything. You can download it for free on their site or on iTunes.
- I’ll admit it: I don’t really read the news as much as a should. Which is why I love getting The Skimm newsletter in my inbox every morning. It covers the most important news items (everything from Ebola outbreaks to celeb breakups) in just a few sentences each, and is written by two really smart, witty ladies. It’s the perfect compliment to your morning cup of coffee.