1⁄2 oz Mezcal, Los Amantes Joven
1⁄4 oz Allspice Dram, St Elizabeth
1⁄4 oz Bénédictine
1 Cherry (Laphroaig-soaked; flamed; as garnish)
Instructions

Stir, strain, up, garnish with a Laphroaig-soaked and flamed cherry, dropped in.

Cocktail summary
Created by
Phil Ward, Mayahuel, NYC.
Year
2008
Is an
authentic recipe
Curator
Not yet rated
Average
4.5 stars
(29 ratings)
YieldsDrink
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From other users
  • Same as Airbag — ★★★★★
  • Rich, nuanced, so much spiciness to pick apart. — ★★★★
  • The Airbag
  • wow
  • Pepper, vanilla, chocolate, allspice, herbal depth, dunder, all beautifully integrated, smooth, and elegant. Wow.
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Comments
bza commented on 5/19/2014:

This was pretty good, but I used a newly opened bottle of Carpano and I thought it overpowered everything else (which is no easy task).

How do you flame a cherry though?


Presumably hold a flame under the Laphroaig-soaked cherry. I've never bothered with the flame, just the Scotch. I didn't find this as Carpano-heavy as you did, but I can definitely see how the vanilla could overpower even the bruisers (arrack, agave, allspice) in this drink.


bza commented on 5/19/2014:

I guess if you put the cherry on a stick it will be ok. I took a maraschino cherry, misted the top with Ardbeg, and called it a day.


Name updated from "Airbag" to how it appears in the Death & Co book, a nod to Avery Glasser, who inspired the drink.


It looks like an insane mish-mash but it really works. The way all the flavors are there to be almost-cerebrally picked apart like aurally picking out particular parts of an orchestra reminds me a bit of another improbable cocktail I found here, El Nacional.