Mezcal Negra

The smoke stays down in the wood.

No signal, nothing on the horizon. A fire going down to embers, plates of sliced lime beside it, and the dust giving back the day's heat while the sky fills up overhead.

Sonoran pine and guaiacwood take that smoke between them, one green and sappy, the other dry and almost sweet. Black lime cuts across both with the sharpness of fruit that has been dried rather than picked. Cajeta thickens underneath, and clary sage keeps the sweetness honest, herbal and slightly strange where it would otherwise go plain.

The pour comes out of unmarked bottles. Dark wood, and stars over the dust.

Kelly+Jones starts at the wine bar. The house began in a vineyard, where a winemaker scolded its founder for wearing fragrance while tasting, and the fragrance met the wine in the glass instead of fighting it. Kelly Jones has built the agave and supper-club releases around a particular hour, a particular room and a particular drink, and hands the composing to noses at Takasago and IFF.

Everything is hand-poured in the USA,free of parabens and phthalates, and carries a detailed ingredient list on every product page and every carton. The Eau de Mezcal line is built as a tribute to agave spirits artisans and their land, and a portion of every sale in it goes to Programa Vaca, which helps rebuild in Mexico's remote rural areas using natural materials.