Even people who typically don't love the smoky flavor of mezcal may find their new cocktail match in the Fear and Loathing from North Shore's Frazier Five & Dime. Bar manager Shelby LaFortune says her goal whenever creating a drink is to make it enjoyable for everyone -- even people who think they don't like the cocktail's base spirit.
Since the restaurant opened earlier this year, her mezcal-based Fear and Loathing cocktail has become its best-selling drink.
"It's the perfect balance of the smoke with a tart [flavor] from the fresh juice that's in it," she says of the cocktail, which blends mezcal with pomegranate-infused tequila, lime juice, orange juice and simple syrup, topped with a drizzle of CBD oil and a lava salt rim. "With a well-balanced cocktail, it shouldn't matter what that base spirit is."
The drink hits all four of the tasting spots on the tongue -- all of which complement the smoky flavor of the mezcal, she says.
The locally sourced CBD oil from Haygood Farms adds a surprise element to the drink, but the amount added is small enough that it doesn't drastically change the taste or alter the drinker's state of mind, LaFortune says.
"The goal is to be surprising and bring a level of playfulness to the cocktail, and do something that people aren't necessarily doing in the Chattanooga bar scene yet," she says.
Here's how to make the Fear and Loathing cocktail.
What you need:
3/4 ounce Rosaluna mezcal
3/4 ounce pomegranate tequila (Frazier Five & Dime makes its own)
3/4 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce orange juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Drizzle of Haygood Farms CBD oil
Orange triangles for garnish
Lava salt for rim
What you do:
Add first five ingredients to a shaker with ice, shake and strain into a rocks glass with ice and a lava salt rim. Garnish with orange triangles and drizzle with CBD oil.
Staff photos by Matt Hamilton / Hayley Thompson adds CBD oil as she makes the Fear and Loathing cocktail at Frazier Five & Dime.