Naked & Famous: A Mezcal Riff on a Modern Classic

ABOUT THE COCKTAIL

Death & Co. brought us another modern mezcal classic, this one created by bartender Joaquín Simó. Whereas the Oaxacan Old Fashioned introduced mezcal by putting it in a supporting position to tequila, the Naked & Famous elevates mezcal to the starring role.

A riff on the Paper Plane, which itself is a riff on The Last Word, the Naked & Famous is an equal parts cocktail combining mezcal, Aperol, yellow Chartreuse and lime juice, resulting in a refreshing, beautifully balanced cocktail with a long finish.

According to Simó, “The Naked & Famous is indeed the bastard love child borne out of an illicit Oaxacan love affair between a classic Last Word and Sam Ross' Paper Plane cocktail.” 

ABOUT THE BAR

Opened on New Year’s Eve 2006/07 in Manhattan’s East Village, Death & Co quickly became a cocktail institution, owed greatly to its team of groundbreaking bartenders. In 2010, Death & Co won Best American Cocktail Bar and World’s Best Cocktail Menu at Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. 

Few, if any, bars in the world can claim more credit for mezcal’s popularity on cocktail lists than New York’s Death & Co. They have created many excellent mezcal cocktails, including two that are now widely considered modern classics: the Oaxacan Old Fashioned and the Naked & Famous.