Name: Going Out West Cocktail
Yield: Makes 1 drink
Ingredients: 1 oz. [30 ml] rye; ½ oz. [15 ml] mezcal; ½ oz. [15 ml] Averna Amaro; ¼ oz [7.5 ml] simple syrup (below); 2 dashes Angostura bitters; Orange peel, for garnish

cocktail in a rocks glass with one large cube of ice and an orange peel garnish

Photo by Antonis Achilleos

Put together spicy rye, smoky mezcal, and coffee-accented amaro, and it’s easy to understand why Joe Briglio, of Chicago’s Billy Sunday, describes this cocktail as “my interpretation of the flavors of the early American West and possibly a cowboy’s campfire.” The drink name is inspired by a Tom Waits song called “Goin’ Out West,” he adds.

Recipe information

Yield
Makes 1 drink

Ingredients

1 oz. [30 ml] rye

½ oz. [15 ml] mezcal

½ oz. [15 ml] Averna Amaro

¼ oz [7.5 ml] simple syrup (below)

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Orange peel, for garnish

Preparation

Step 1
In a mixing glass, stir together the rye, mezcal, amaro, simple syrup, and bitters with ice. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Twist the orange peel over the top of the drink to express the oils, then use the peel to garnish.
Simple syrup:
Step 2
Stir one part sugar into one part boiling water until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let cool. Decant into a mason jar (or other small container with a lid) and store in the refrigerator tightly covered for up to 10 days.

The cover of the cocktail recipe book Nightcap

From Nightcap: More than 40 Cocktails to Close Out Any Evening by Kara Newman. Copyright © 2018 by Kara Newman. Excerpted by permission of Chronicle Books. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop .