Smoke and agave lead, with espadín mezcal and overproof Jamaican rum pushing a funky, high-proof heat against sharp lime and the clove-spiced sweetness of falernum. It drinks as bright and tart as a Daiquiri but darker and wilder, a whisper of maraschino adding a cherry-almond lift and an optional touch of egg white softening it into a silky, chilled coupe.
Shaken · Coupe · Up
add
Combine the mezcal, overproof white rum, falernum, maraschino, lime juice, simple syrup, and (optional) egg white in a shaker.
shake
Add ice and shake vigorously until well chilled.
strain
Strain into a chilled coupe (or serve on the rocks in a traditional clay or terracotta mug).
Samuele Ambrosi, an Italian bartender, created the drink in the late 1990s while working at the Castel Brando, a hotel in Cison di Valmarino in the province of Treviso. He conceived it as a take on the Daiquiri, building it first on tequila before switching the base to mezcal. The name is credited to a patron, Dr. Joe Paul Shafer, who pronounced it "so good it must be illegal." In 2020 the IBA brought it onto its official list among the New Era Drinks.