The Story Behind The Abandoned Highway
While mezcal may not be the first spirit you think of around the holidays, its distinctive smoky notes are here to prove you wrong. The spirit shines in the Abandoned Highway, created by Simone Mele of Kansas City’s Swordfish Tom’s, where it is accompanied by two types of amaro and an orange, cinnamon, and clove tonic syrup. It all comes together with hot apple cider in a harmonious combination of dark fruit flavors, fall baking spices, and mulled apples all seamlessly connected on a string of smoke.
The Orange Cinnamon Clove Tonic Syrup included is a take on Mele’s syrup, as his recipe is top secret.
*Orange Cinnamon Clove Tonic Syrup Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 4 ounces orange juice
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp cinchona bark powder
- 1 tbsp clove powder
- Citric acid
- Sugar
*Orange Cinnamon Clove Tonic Syrup Directions
- In a medium saucepan, combine water, orange juice, cinnamon, cinchona bark, and clove powder and heat over medium-low.
- Heat until simmering, reduce heat, and cover for 25 minutes.
- Remove from heat and strain into a bowl through a fine mesh strainer lined with a cheesecloth.
- Allow to cool for 30 minutes.
- Carefully pour the liquid into a storage container, straining away any sediment that has settled at the bottom of the mixture.
- For each cup of tonic water, add ¾ cup sugar and 1 tsp citric acid.
- Seal and store in the refrigerator.
