Overview: Chris Tanner, co-founder of Dram Bar, has partnered with Zacal to release the Zacalita, a canned cocktail designed to replicate bar-standard quality. The product utilizes triple-distilled Manso Sahuayo mezcal and features a design inspired by the Parícutin volcano.
The Full Story
It’s been almost six months since Soho favourite Dram Bar sadly closed its Denmark Street doors and for fellow cocktail fans miss the place, there is now a new way to geta Dram fix. Co-founder Chris Tanner has partnered with the excellent Michoacánmezcal brand Zacal to design the recipe for theZacalita, a bartender-quality cocktail in a can.
The Zacalita is a take on the classic margarita, made with mezcal rather than tequila. It brings together Zacal’s smooth, triple-distilled Manso Sahuayo mezcal, fresh lime and High Fidelity Triple Sec, co-created by chef Ashley Palmer-Watts, co-founder of Soho’s The Devonshire. The twist is a distillate of black cardamom and light carbonation, which gives it a lightly smoked, savoury, aromatic lift.
Tanner, also behind Bethnal Green’s All My Gods, created the recipe alongside Rory Shepherd, co-owner of Paris cocktail bar De Vie and formerly of Little Red Door. Between them they’ve built some of Europe’s best-loved bars. The canned cocktail category has come a long way from train tinnies, and the Zacalita is pitched squarely at drinkers who expect bar-standard quality from a can.
Production & Profile
The spirit component is Zacal’s smooth, triple-distilled Manso Sahuayo mezcal, a rare specification in the category where most producers stop at double distillation. This process ensures the spirit remains smooth and complex enough to carry the cocktail without requiring excessive sweetness. A distillate of black cardamom provides a lightly smoked, savoury, aromatic lift, while light carbonation balances the profile.
Zacalita is lighter than most canned cocktails at an easy-going 7% ABV, and is intended to offer a refined serve while not skimping on flavour. The mezcal does a lot of the work; being triple-distilled, it’s smooth and complex enough to carry a cocktail in a way most mezcals aren’t. Every ingredient is there to elevate the serve – the triple sec was co-created by the acclaimed chef Ashley Palmer-Watts, and the black cardamom is the real point of difference, giving it a smoky, savoury lift you don’t expect from a can.
Brand & Industry History
Zacal mezcal is produced in the volcanic highlands of Michoacán by third-generation mezcalero Milton Ochoa at his family’s vinata. It is made in the volcanic highlands of Michoacán (not Oaxaca, where most mezcal comes from). Chris Tanner also operates Bethnal Green’s All My Gods, while Shepherd brings experience from Little Red Door and De Vie.
What This Means
We wanted to make something that tasted like it had come from behind the bar, not off a production line. Getting that level of detail into a format people can grab and go was the whole challenge and it’s what makes it genuinely less ordinary. The mezcal does a lot of the work; being triple-distilled, it’s smooth and complex enough to carry a cocktail in a way most mezcals aren’t.
Consumer Takeaway
The Zacalita offers an easy-going 7% ABV profile that is lighter than most canned cocktails without skimping on flavour. Packaging is fully recyclable and features a design inspired by Parícutin, the youngest volcano in the world. The Zacalita (200ml, RRP £7) is available to buy from zacalmezcal.com.
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