"This drink was inspired by family vacations to Mexico and driving around in a golf cart on Isla Mujeres off the coast of Cancun. Working from an assignment to develop an “agave old-fashioned,” I knew I wanted to use mezcal and add sotol (another Mexican spirit made from the desert spoon plant) for its vegetal, grassy, earthy notes. I played around with many infusions into the mezcal, but found the Vago Elote mezcal to be the most beneficial to the cocktail not only in flavor, but also for longevity of the D&C compendium. I also wanted a fruit component: giffard caribbean pineapple fit perfectly, as pineapple is my favorite fruit to eat in Mexico, and it compliments the cocktail with its carribean spice notes. The result is funky agave old-fashioned that’s approachable to new drinkers of mezcal and sotol alike. I’m a huge mezcal drinker, but have only used it in shaken cocktails, so this was an amazing-yet-challenging first cocktail to write for Death & Co!" —CS