Hot Oaxacan Penicillin Recipe
A steaming agave take on the Penicillin: reposado tequila and a little mezcal with ginger and honey syrups, lengthened with hot water.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Irish coffee mug
- ABV: 11%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Reposado tequila45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Mezcal15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Ginger syrup15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Honey syrup7.5 ml (0.3 oz)
- Hot water120 ml (4.1 oz)
How to Make It
- Warm a glass mug with hot water and empty it.
- Add the tequila, mezcal, ginger syrup and honey syrup.
- Top with hot water just off the boil and stir.
- Float a lemon wheel on top.
Garnish
Lemon wheel
What it tastes like
There is a spiced warmth to it and smoke dominates the nose.
The technique
Layering. The liqueurs sit on each other by sugar density — the sweetest one goes in first, at the bottom. Each layer is poured slowly over the BACK of a bar spoon so it spreads instead of punching through. Rush it and the layers fold together, and there is no fixing that.
Glass and ice
A handled, thick-walled Irish coffee mug. Built for hot drinks: the handle protects your hand and the thick glass holds the heat. Warming it with hot water first noticeably changes the first sip.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Reposado tequila
- Tequila rested in barrel for two months to a year. The agave edge has softened into vanilla and cinnamon; you can swap in blanco, but the drink comes out sharper.
- Mezcal
- The Mexican spirit whose smoke comes from roasting the agave in a stone pit. It can stand in for tequila, but the smoke walks over everything else; starting half and half is the balanced move.
- Ginger syrup
- Ginger syrup — grated fresh ginger steeped with equal parts sugar and water, then strained. In a pinch use ginger beer, but then cut the sugar elsewhere in the recipe.
- Honey syrup
- Three parts honey to one part warm water. Neat honey seizes up in a cold drink, which is why it gets loosened first. Heavier and more aromatic than simple syrup.
The Story
A warm riff on Sam Ross's Penicillin, the Scotch, honey and ginger modern classic from New York's Milk & Honey, with mezcal standing in for the smoky Islay float.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Hot Oaxacan Penicillin mixed?
- It is layered and served in an Irish coffee mug.
- How strong is a Hot Oaxacan Penicillin?
- Roughly 11% ABV as served — right around a glass of wine — an aperitif or an early-evening drink.
- Can a Hot Oaxacan Penicillin be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Hot Oaxacan Penicillin hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.