Scorched Earth Recipe
An equal-parts Negroni cousin of mezcal, Cynar and Campari — smoky, earthy and unapologetically bitter.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 23%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Mezcal30 ml (1 oz)
- Cynar (artichoke amaro)30 ml (1 oz)
- Campari30 ml (1 oz)
- Orange bitters2 dash
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled and diluted.
- Strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube.
- Express an orange peel over the drink and drop it in.
Garnish
Orange peel
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone, smoke dominates the nose and the spirit is right out front.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- 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.
- Cynar (artichoke amaro)
- An amaro made from artichoke. It does not taste vegetal but earthy and caramelised; at 16.5% it is one of the lighter amari, which is why it turns up in long drinks.
- Campari
- The red Italian bitter, with a bitterness that is unmistakable. Aperol can replace it, but Aperol is half the strength and clearly sweeter, so the drink comes out softer.
- Orange bitters
- Orange-peel bitters. Where Angostura brings spiced weight, this brings citrus lift; in gin and tequila drinks the two are not interchangeable.
The Story
One of the many modern Negroni variations, replacing the gin with mezcal and the vermouth with artichoke amaro.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Scorched Earth mixed?
- It is stirred and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Scorched Earth?
- Roughly 23% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Scorched Earth 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 Scorched Earth 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.