This Mezcal Chocolate Cherry is an amazing cocktail for Old Fashioned fans! If you've never tried mezcal, it should definitely be on your list, especially if you like tequila. Mezcal is like tequila's older cousin! It's also made from agave, and it usually has a smokier flavor.
This is a really spirit-forward drink, which means there is not much mixer and it tastes strong. It's really nice in the fall season or over the holidays, since it's on the rich side with the chocolate bitters.
This is a great drink to try if you like a smoked cocktail, like the tasty Smoky Margarita. You'll also enjoy making a bottle of Smoked Simple Syrup to have in your bar fridge!
Ingredients
To make this drink, you'll need mezcal, Maraschino liqueur, and chocolate bitters. You'll also need some rum that's been fat washed in butter and cocoa to add a little extra chocolate flavor.
If you don't have the fat washed rum, you can skip that ingredient, or just infuse rum with cocoa powder instead of doing the butter process explained below.
For garnish, a mix of cocoa powder and sugar is a great touch for the glass rim, and a Luxardo cherry finishes it off nicely.
How to Fat Wash Rum
In order to get some deep cocoa flavor into the drink, I fat washed rum with a mix of melted butter and cocoa powder. Check out this Serious Eats article about the science of fat washing to read more about it!
Fat washing sounds kind of weird if you haven't heard of it before, but basically you mix liquid fat with alcohol and let it sit in the refrigerator. The fat gives the alcohol flavor, but also mellows and smooths it out.
To actually do the fat washing, use 1 Tablespoon butter and 1 teaspoon cocoa powder for every ounce of rum.
Melt the butter, and stir in the cocoa powder. Then, add the rum into a clean mason jar, and stir in the butter mixture. Seal it up and let it sit on the counter for about an hour.
Freeze the mixture overnight. The butter will solidify at the top, so you can remove it easily. If you have any cocoa sediment left in the rum that you want to remove, just pass it through a coffee filter.
What is Maraschino Liqueur?
Unlike the bright red cherries you might see in a supermarket, true "maraschino" cherries are made only from Marasca cherries. They're sour cherries that are native to Croatia, preserved in a thick, rich syrup.
Maraschino liqueur is also made from these Marasca cherries, including the stem and pits. It's a very sweet liqueur that has a strong cherry flavor.
Maraschino liqueur is strong, sold at 32% alcohol (64 proof). A little goes a long way, both strength wise and flavor wise!
Looking for more Maraschino liqueur cocktails? Try out the classic Last Word cocktail. Or, try this tasty Cherry and Ginger cocktail that uses a different cherry liqueur!
Instructions
To make the cocoa powder rim, mix cocoa powder and sugar in a small dish. Then, either dip the rim in water or use the syrup from your cocktail cherries. (I painted syrup on with a food-only paintbrush to get the sharp lines.)
To make the drink, grab a heavy-bottomed cocktail mixing glass. Add the mezcal, maraschino liqueur, cocoa infused rum, and chocolate bitters.
Fill the mixing glass with ice, and stir everything for about 30 seconds.
Add ice to your serving glass, and strain the drink into the glass.
For garnish, add a cocktail cherry (I like Luxardo cherries) to a cocktail pick. Rest it in the glass, serve and enjoy!
Top Tip
The best ice to use for a drink like this is a large sphere of clear ice. That's because it will melt really slowly, so it won't make the drink too watery! I recommend this clear ice sphere maker for starting out.
📖 Recipe
Mezcal Chocolate Cherry Cocktail
Equipment
- Cocktail stirring glass
- Cocktail strainer
- Jigger
- Paintbrush (optional - if you want to paint the syrup onto the glass)
Ingredients
Cocktail
- 1.5 oz mezcal
- 0.5 oz maraschino liqueur
- 1 bar spoon butter-washed cocoa-infused rum (optional - see details in blog post above)
- 3 dashes chocolate bitters
Garnish
- 1 maraschino cherry
- 1 tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder (preferably Dutch process)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- Mix the cocoa powder and sugar together and place in a shallow dish.
- Wet the rim of the old fashioned glass, using either water or the syrup from the cocktail cherries (I used a paintbrush). Roll the wet part of the glass into the cocoa powder mixture.
- Add the mezcal, maraschino liqueur, cocoa-infused rum and bitters into a cocktail stirring glass. Add ice and stir for a minute to dilute the drink.
- Add a large piece of ice to your serving glass. The size will help it to melt more slowly.
- Strain the drink into the serving glass.
- Place a maraschino cherry on a cocktail pick and add it to the glass for garnish. Serve and enjoy!
Justin says
Did I miss what the measurements are for making the fat washed rum? Also, its really hard to write this comment with so many links and icons on the screen.
Kimberly says
Hi Justin! The measurements for the fat washed rum are 1 Tbsp butter and 1 tsp cocoa powder for every ounce of rum. Melt the butter and mix the cocoa powder into it before adding to the rum, then let it sit on the counter for about an hour. Freeze overnight and the butter will solidify so you can remove it easily. If you have any cocoa sediment left in the rum that you want to remove, just pass it through a coffee filter.
For the comments, I'm sorry to hear you've had problems! I emailed you, and if you could please email back and let me know what browser you are using, or a screenshot of all the links and icons, I'd appreciate it. Everything looks ok on my devices so I'm wondering if it's a browser issue. Cheers!