So I spent a couple of weeks reconciling myself with my tequila-soaked misspent 21st year by wondering: what about mezcal? Here’s the result: an original and smoky, complex cocktail straight out of Salem, MA. Think “Long Island Iced Tea for grown-ups and without the headache.“ N.B.: You needn’t play Overwatch, but the drink will make playing it a LOT less infuriating.

The Witches’ Chimney:

Fill a shaker 1/2 way with ice. To the shaker add:

1/2 oz limeade

1/2 oz simple syrup** &

1/4 oz Raspberry liquor

1/2 oz Grand Mariner

1/2 oz vodka (the cleaner the flavour profile, the better)

1/2 oz dark rum

1/2 oz bourbon (or favourite — not too smoky — whiskey)

1/2 oz gin

1/2 oz mezcal 

** I use a homemade simple syrup of pure cane sugar, water, torn mint leaves, and a stick of cinnamon. Use a ratio of 1:1 cup for the sugar to water, boil with the mint and cinnamon, strain the solids out, and allow the syrup to cool. It’ll keep refrigerated for a month. 

If you want to watch the occasional recipe being made, check out my twitch account at http://twitch.tv/dr_b_mfa. We also talk about things like neoliberalism, fascism, and intersectional representation in games. All while inebriated. Great!

Brian Vlasak, MFA, PhD is a disabled essayist and thinker living in Salem, Massachusetts. Dr. Vlasak‘s work has been published in ‘Coffin Bell,’ Paragon Press’s ‘Echo: A Journal of Nonfiction,’ ‘Columbia Journal,’ and is forthcoming this in fall’s ‘Saranac Review’. They unwind by losing games of Overwatch.