There’s a new spirit in town, just the perfect timing to fulfill our margarita cravings for the start of spring – and hopefully for warmer weather.

Mezcal, tequila’s more refined cousin, has been on the rise for the past few years, and we are excited to see more and more bars and restaurants serving mezcal cocktails. Riviera Imports recently announced the launch of Tres Papalote Mezcal, their new 100% handcrafted premium mezcal, ready to get into the mix of things.

Tres Papalote Mezcal offers a smooth taste and distinguished consistency for those who are well-versed in drinking mezcal as well as for those who are trying it out for the first time. It is exclusively distilled from the Wild Cupreata agave plant grown on the mountaintops of Guerrero, Mexico, crafting a slightly sweeter and less smoky flavor than other mezcal varieties.

Cheech Marin, one half of the Grammy-award winning comedic duo Cheech & Chong, is serving as the brand ambassador for Tres Papalote Mezcal as part of his “feel good, enjoy life, have fun” persona.

“Riviera Imports is thrilled to bring mezcal to the forefront of the spirits industry with the launch of Tres Papalote Mezcal, which we intend to become the preferred mezcal brand for the growing community of mezcal patrons,” said Ed Caan, Founder and CEO of Riviera Imports. “Every step of the process to create Tres Papalote has been carefully crafted from the harvesting of the Wild Cupreata agave plant to the colorful ’Koo-Koo’ man image on the bottle, which comes from a glass sculpture that is part of Cheech Marin’s world renown Chicano art collection.”

We’d love to spend a Saturday night hanging out with Cheech Marin over Tres Papalote Mezcal shots!

If you’d rather not do shots with us and are more into the refined cocktail scene, Tres Papalote Mezcal has brought on brand mixologist Yusef Austin to their team. 

Yusef Austin, aka “The Cocktail Architect,’ has previously curated world famous cocktails for venues such as the Boom Boom Room in NYC and the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai. With an extensive resume spanning over 20 years in the beverage industry, he has whipped up some excellent cocktails for Tres Papalote Mezcal and is graciously sharing his recipes with the masses.

We were given a bottle of Tres Papalote Mezcal to try, and even with our own improv version on the recipies from Austin, our cocktails turned out pretty delicious. We tried our hand at the Mountainside Magic – being too lazy to freshly puree my own pineapple juice, we used some store-bought pineapple juice. The pineapple juice, the Tres Papalote Mezcal, and a generous splash of lemon juice all shaken up over ice was all you really need for a delicious drink!

We also made our own drink using some Owl’s Brew tea mixer that we had on hand. Using the instructions on the bottle – 2 parts Owl’s Brew to 1 part of booze – this was a natural fit with Tres Papalote Mezcal for a less sweet cocktail. Throw in lemon juice for your own boozy Arnold Palmer.

Check out some of the recipes below and try out yourself at home!

Yours,
Von

Photos via Tres Papalote Mezcal and by Socially Superlative

The Original

• 2 oz. Tres Papalote® Mezcal

Pour over rocks. Add a large orange twist.

Smokey Eyes

• 2 oz. Tres Papalote® Mezcal
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice
• ¾ oz. Campari
• ¼ oz. Cynar
• 1 dash of Bittermens Xocoloti 
Mole bitters

Shake all ingredients until cold and strain into a Coupe. Add a flamed orange twist.

The Evolucion

• 2 oz. Tres Papalote® Mezcal
• ¾ oz. dry Vermouth
• ½ oz. elderflower syrup
• 1 dash of orange bitters

Stir all ingredients until chilled. Strain into Martini glass. Add a large grapefruit twist.

Mountainside Magic

• 2 oz. Tres Papalote® Mezcal
• ½ oz. vanilla syrup
• ½ oz. lemon juice
• ¾ oz. fresh pineapple puree
• Pinch of salt

Shake all ingredients until very cold and strain over fresh ice. Add a pineapple wedge to garnish.

The Spike

• 2 oz. Tres Papalote® Mezcal
• ¾ oz. fresh lime
• ¾ oz. agave

Shake all ingredients until cold. Strain over fresh ice. Add a lime wedge and a smoky spicy salt rim.

Strawberry Fields

• 1 oz. Tres Papalote® Mezcal
• ¾ oz. fresh strawberry
• ½ oz. fresh lime
• ¾ oz. agave nectar

Shake until cold. Strain into a chilled shot glass. Place a strawberry ball on a pic.

East Meets West

• 1 oz. Tres Papalote® Mezcal
• ¾ oz. fresh cucumber juice
• ¾ oz. fresh lime
• ½ oz. simple syrup
• Dash kaffir lime dust

Shake until cold. Strain into a chilled shot glass. Garnish with a fresh cucumber slice.

Mystical Mezcal Margarita

• 2 oz. Tres Papalote® Mezcal
• ¾ oz. fresh lime
• ½ oz. agave nectar
• ½ oz. triple sec

Rocks glass. Half rim of spicy chili salt rim.