Don't let fear of the unknown keep you from trying the Superstition cocktail at Dusk, the new bar at Chattanooga's Bode hotel.
The drink boasts a unique flavor combination of rosemary, mezcal and jalapeno brightened with lime and agave syrup to make it fit for summer.
"Even though it is boozy, smoky and spicy, I wanted people to be able to come back for more and order multiple of them if they wanted to," says Evelyn Mostrom, food and beverage manager at Bode and the drink's creator. "The rosemary smoke smells one way and tastes another, but it's all very cohesive."
Plus, it just looks really cool.
"I joke that it's our emo margarita, because it has activated charcoal in it, and it's rimmed with black lava salt so it's dark, it's striking," she says of the drink, which also involves an eye-catching process of smoking the glass with rosemary. "People sit at the bar, and they're like, 'Whoa, what is that?'"
Mostrom says she would recommend it to anyone who's interested in trying mezcal or loves drinking tequila, as well as to people who like smoky scotches or rye whiskeys since it starts out spicy and smoky but ends on a sweeter note.
"I like to joke that it's basically a health drink," she says. "There's herbs, there's charcoal - treat yourself."
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / The Superstition cocktail at Dusk bar.What you need:
- 2 ounces mezcal
- 3/4 ounce jalapeno lime syrup*
- 1 ounce lime juice
- 1/2 ounce agave syrup
- 1/2 ounce Cointreau
- 1 pinch activated charcoal powder
- Black lava salt
*For syrup, combine 3-4 fresh jalapenos (with most of the seeds punched out, retaining a few for heat), golden food sugar and the juice of two limes in a pot; simmer until fragrant and fine-strain.
What you do:
1. On a fireproof surface, light a sprig of rosemary, cover with upside-down glass, and let smoke collect inside.
2. Put all ingredients in a shaker and shake vigorously.
3. Quickly overturn glass and rim with black lava salt.
4. Pour contents of shaker into glass over fresh ice.