Last month my husband, my three kids, and I took what I am tempted to call our First-Ever Family Vacation. See, we’ve been on numerous trips all together in the past–Disneyland, Legoland, Catalina Island, Chicago–but they were just that: “family trips.” As a wise friend once told me, “When your kids are young, you don’t go on family vacations. You go on family trips.” “Family trip” meaning “you’ll need a vacation from your vacation.” But, to my delight, my children have now reached an age where we can all go on a trip and come home feeling relaxed and satisfied. This was the case with our wonderful time in Rocky Point, Mexico.
Over the four days we spent south of the border, we enjoyed a gorgeous view from our condo’s terrace,
lounged on Sandy Beach,
and, since we were there over our anniversary, celebrated by drinking copious amounts of Mexican alcohol–my husband I, that is, not the kids.
People had of course told us that food and drinks in Mexico are insanely inexpensive, but I was not prepared for the extreme dirt-cheapness of Mexican alcohol. It was like if Wal-Mart rolled back their prices and just kept on rolling. And that’s how I ended up with a $4 bottle of mezcal. Actually, backstory: I ended up with a $4 bottle of mezcal because it looked fancy and I thought it might be tequila but was afraid to ask. (I can say several things in Spanish, but “what is this liquor and why is it so cheap?” is not one of them.) So I just dropped it in the basket along with my mini flan cups and lime-flavored mayo and headed to the register.
Once a Google search revealed that this mysterious bottle with the agave plant picture on it was actually a variety of mezcal, I was stumped. What’s mezcal, and what do you do with it, especially when you are now the proud owner of a rather large bottle of it? Fortunately, I came across the idea for this cocktail: the refreshing flavor mix of blackberries, lime, and agave mixed with the smoky taste of the mezcal.
If Starbucks ever wants to add alcohol to any of their “refresher” drinks, I’m sending them this recipe. It’s light, sweet, and a little different. For me, it brings up happy memories of a Mexican family vacation…and cheap Mexican liquor. I’d be happy to return to Rocky Point for more of both.
Blackberry Lime Mezcal Refresher
(Inspired by The Drink Blog)
Ingredients:
4 blackberries, plus more for garnish, if desired
3/4 oz. lime juice
1/2 oz. honey or agave nectar
2 oz. mezcal
ice
Directions:
- In the bottom of a 1-cup measuring cup, mash blackberries until no large pieces remain. Add lime juice, honey or agave nectar, and mezcal and stir well.
- Pour mixture over a fine-mesh strainer into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice, pressing down on blackberry pulp to extract as much juice as possible. Discard blackberry pulp. Garnish with additional blackberries, if desired.
Serves 1.
