Sometimes you just have to do something on a lark. Have a bit of fun. Toss together a bit of this with a bit of that and see what happens. Whether in your mixing tins or your life, shaking things up and adding a little variety can make all the difference. What have you got to lose, besides a little time and dignity? So, note that I have nothing up my sleeves and please join me now as we stand and make the, definitely not for kids, Conejo Tonto.

We played with several ideas when it came to an Easter drink and found the category lacking. I settled on the awesomely presented, tiki in a modified chocolate bunny monstrosity known as Easter Island, but I was intrigued by a few others. One thing that really jumped out at me was a recipe for an interesting ingredient, Carrot Rosemary Cordial. I went ahead and made some up and then went in search of a decent cocktail to use it in. As luck would have it, I stumbled across an interesting mezcal while running errands and decided that a bunny food riff on a Mezcal Sour might be just the thing, so here we are.

The first step is to make the cordial, so chop up three reasonably average carrots and boil them in a cup of water. When the carrots soften, mash them up and simmer for a minute or two longer. Now that all those flavors have melded, capture that water by draining through a sieve, smashing the carrots well to get all that rooty goodness out of them. Add 1/2 a cup of sugar and two sprigs of rosemary to your carrot water and bring to a boil. Once the sugar is incorporated, remove from heat, cool and strain before bottling. It should keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge. I dropped another sprig of rosemary in there, just for the look, but you do you. With the not so secret ingredient covered it is time to make the drink.

Grab your tins and pop in 1 1/2 ounces of mezcal, I chose Madre Ensamble; 1 1/4 ounces of fresh squeezed lime juice, 1/2 an ounce of Amaro Nonino, 3/4 of an ounce of Carrot Rosemary Cordial and an egg white. Give that a good dry shake for 30 seconds or so to whip that egg white up before adding ice and shaking hard till your tins are chilled to the beat of “Breathe” by Pink Floyd. Sure it is a little slow to shake to, but I have faith in you. Strain into a modified Nick & Nora and have fun garnishing with a conceptual carrot constructed of angostura bitters and tiny lime peel strings.

That is surprising and lovely. Lots of citrus on the nose, passing through smoke to an herbal finish. It is a little on the dry side, almost astringent, but so interesting. Light and complex, in the best way. Besides being cute as a button nose on a velveteen rabbit, that angostura carrot adds an aroma that really brings this one together nicely. The magic trick paid off. I knew it was a gamble, but this silly rabbit works and his tricks are definitely not for kids.

I am going to play with this cordial, there have got to be more places for it to work its magic, I just have to discover them. I can see how a nice gin might pull out some interesting botanical notes and how it could even work with rum. That’s part of the fun of exploration in life and behind the bar. You take some cool things and just toss them to gather and see how things turn out. Some times it works, some times it doesn’t and some times, well some times it is magic. Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay sane, my friends.