For me cocktails are about the relationship between flavors, if you strike the right balance its like a symphony of pure cocktail bliss. The Gold Canary aims to combine ingredients that we are all familiar with on their own however using all of it together makes for one extraordinary little tipple. Here banana is used which is quite a rarity in cocktail making in and of itself, then it's paired with Scorpion Mezcal which lends it a nice warm but subtle smokiness that's quite pleasing. Pair that with saffron and it moves it to a whole other level of complexity with, that add fresh lime juice and some agave with just a touch of orange oils from the zest of the orange and what you have is a sophisticated cocktail that just about any cocktail enthusiast can really fall for. May you imbibe well!

Ingredients:

2 inch piece of a common yellow banana

2oz Scorpion Silver Espadin Mezcal

1/4oz Saffron Tincture

1/2oz Agave Syrup (1part agave,1 part water)

1/2oz Fresh Lime Juice

Orange Oils

Garnish: Orange Twist

Preparation:

1st muddle the banana, then add the Mezcal, saffron tincture, agave and fresh lime juice to your favorite mixing glass or tin. Add a 1/2 cup of ice and shake moderately. Strain with your typical hawthorn bar strainer into your favorite Martini or Coupe glass, add orange oils and apply orange twist. (Fine straining is not necessary as you want a little pulp involved from the banana to add to the texture and to also enhance the flavor).

Saffron Tincture:

Take 3 grams of Persian Saffron and add to your favorite glass jar. Then add 375ml of Vodka and let it sit for 24 hours for full potency. You will yield around 50 serving as just a 1/4oz for any cocktail strikes a very strong flavor. Using Saffron with this method make it very cost friendly and really solves the costly expense part of using saffron in cocktails.

Created, designed and photographed by Jason Walsh mixologist of Nyc