Agave spirits are awesome on their own, but some of them also play well with others. Here’s one classic that’s delicious with mezcal or tequila…

More cocktails to come, I promise!

The Mexican Firing Squad

2 oz tequila (or mezcal, really, its tasty)

3/4 oz lime juice

3/4 oz grenadine (recipe for the good, homemade stuff, below)

5 drops Angostura bitters

Shake with ice, strain over fresh ice, and garnish with a lime wheel if you’re feeling fancy

 

Homemade Grenadine

This is one of the blessings of being a bartender: learning how easy homemade syrups really are, and they’re so much better! Here’s the quickest most straightforward grenadine there ever was –

2 cups POM, or any brand of pomegranate juice (you can also juice some pomegranates, but that’s a mess)

1 cup of sugar

Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, reduce to a simmer, let simmer for 10 minutes. Cool as much as you can before using it to make tasty beverages.

You can add cloves and nutmeg and make a spiced grenadine. You can add a little orange flower water or orange zest. You can skip the heat and just whisk sugar and grenadine together for a milder but brighter flavor. You can reduce part of the syrup by A LOT and make pomegranate molasses. Lots of options, all delicious. After all, its fruit juice and sugar, its pretty hard to mess up.