A Little East Village Crawl

Thursday night I was back in East Village, familiar to me from my last visit. There was a new addition, however, to the elite cocktail establishments previously comprising of PDT and Death & Company: Mayahuel Mexican Restaurant at 304 E. 6th Street. But first I returned to Death & Company to show a couple friends and of course, indulge in some mixed drinks. A new flavor experience for me, the North by Northwest with champagne, Aviation Gin, fresh lemon juice, and St. George Absinthe, was outstanding; for a moment making classic champagne cocktails like the French 75 seem, bland.

At Mayahuel I found a couple familiar faces. Katie, from Clover Club, was behind the bar along with Phil Ward, former barman from Death & Company whom I had become acquainted with a year prior via three delicious whiskey cocktails. Mr. Ward is now behind the bar program at Mayahuel which is highlighted by some of the finest spirits from Mexico, that is, tequila and mezcal galore. I will defer to Dale Degroff, founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail to define mezcal (or mescal, if you prefer): The general category of which tequila is a subcategory, mescal is made primarily in Oaxaca, Mexico and has a smoky quality from the slow baking of the agave pina in clay ovens over hot rocks. In my experience, I have seen one premium mezcal in the Northwest and that is by Del Maguey, which you can find at Uptown Liquor on NW 24th and Burnside. My first order was a mezcal old-fashioned, inspired by a Jeff Morgenthaler tweet during his last visit. I deferred any specifics on the cocktail to the bartender and was not disappointed. The flavor was rich, bright and smoky, less sweet and heavy, if you will, than a bourbon old-fashioned. If you want to taste of this in Portland, Mr. Shoemaker at the Teardrop Lounge can help you – although it’ll cost $16. My second and final cocktail of the night (the rest would be Pabst and shots of well tequila) was the bartender’s choice using mezcal. I was served a nice bittersweet cocktail, still with the characteristic mezcal smokiness – most likely a little Campari or Aperol in this one.

A little more casual and a little less exclusive, Mayahuel may be a little easier to get into than PDT or Death & Company, if you’re prowling this neighborhood. Next time, how about a tequila/mezcal flight?