The Margarita is the most popular cocktail in the U.S. and variations on the template always sell well. This is my take on an aperitivo-friendly Margarita. A split base of smoky mezcal and lightly-aged reposado come together with aperitivo wine, lime, grapefruit, and agave, for an exceedingly refreshing, sort of Italianate Margarita. A salt rim tastes great here.

This is the “root drink” for this month’s recipes. It was one of those cocktails that I thought up, tried, and loved right away! This spirit-forward, bittersweet drink is adjacent to two well-known agave-based Negroni riffs: the Rosita (tequila, sweet vermouth, dry vermouth, aperitivo liqueur) and the Oaxacan Negroni (mezcal, sweet vermouth, Campari). For a little extra bitterness, opt for a grapefruit twist; orange works great here, too.

This is an exceedingly refreshing beer cocktail that’s absolutely perfect for summer. I took inspiration from several templates: the Paloma (tequila, lime, grapefruit, sugar, soda), Radlers (beer, grapefruit), the Spaghett (domestic lager, Aperol, lemon), and the Michelada (Mexican lager, salt, lime, spice sometimes tomato juice, Clamato and other ingredients).

This drink appears in the 1938 book New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em. I chose it to kick off Margarita Month as an example of an early tequila sour. We had this on a classics menu at Gigantic, where Ned King and Kris Kirkland tweaked the spec to create this fantastic, slightly smoky riff on the original. It’s fun to do a tropical presentation with this drink (crushed ice, mint garnish, bitters dashed atop), as it’s akin to an agave-spirit Daiquiri.

This recipe illustrates a few aspects of twenty-first-century cocktail culture that have had an effect on this month’s iconic cocktail, namely the rise of Mezcal as a base, the spicy Margarita craze, and the introduction of other fruit as supporting characters in Margarita variations. The use of a shrub also reflects popular methodologies of today’s cocktail culture.

This is one of those great drinks that sprang from the unique mix of ingredients on this month’s supply list. The resulting cocktail is a delightful 2:1 mezcal-and-gin martini with blanc vermouth, saline, optional spicy note, and a touch of honey. Keep a bottle of these in the freezer for when an afternoon outdoor hang turned into an all-evening affair and you suddenly have several thirsty friends at your house.

I developed this stirred cocktail recipe for a class I taught online back in March of 2022. Its flavor profile–smoky, honeyed, and bitter–was inspired by those first grilling sessions of spring. It’s strong enough to stand up to a cool evening but fits in well on a warm day, too.

I love flips. From sailor’s drink to tavern classic, this drink morphed into one of the antebellum nineteenth century’s favorite cocktails. And on a beautiful sunny spring day that’s still quite cold, this tropical flip brings the comforting taste of brûléed custard to your golden hour or, fittingly, your dessert course.

In this interpretation of a cobbler, smoky Mezcal and piney gin team up with off-dry blanc vermouth, lime, cucumber, and parsley for a verdant spring cocktail.