The Drink: The Casa Oaxaca Sour
Where to Get It: Oyamel, 401 7th St. NW; (202) 628-1005; oyamel.com
Price: $13
What It Is: A cocktail made with mezcal, Japanese peanut and grasshopper-infused syrup, and lime. It’s garnished with roasted grasshoppers.
What It Tastes Like: This frothy concoction is delicious—sweet, smoky with citrus notes, and slightly nutty—until you feel the crunch of roasted, fibrous body parts. It’s horrifying and exhilarating. Is this what Dexter feels like after a kill?
History of the Drink: “This drink was inspired by our love of all things Oaxacan,” says beverage manager Jessica Sackler. “This involves grasshoppers, which are a Oaxacan specialty, something used for sustenance and protein. Very, very common in Mexico. We have a taco here with grasshoppers, so we were thinking, ‘How we can incorporate that into a drink?’”
How to Drink It: This may be the only time you ever don’t send back a drink with a bug in it. Gaze longingly into the cocktail as it gazes back, then sip meaningfully.
Photo by Mary Kong-DeVito