Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique - a Mezcal Drink Inspired by Kill Bill
How to master the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, a mezcal and coffee Negroni-style cocktail named after the death blow from Kill Bill. It was created by Erick Castro, bartender, founder of Polite Provisions and host of the podcast and the film, Bartender at Large. The drink is made with a smoky mezcal, Punt e Mes (a slightly bitter sweet vermouth), coffee liqueur and chocolate bitters.
The cocktail was created in early 2015, when Castro was setting up the bar at Boilermaker in New York. Soon after, he brought it home to the menu of Polite Provisions in San Diego. And later that year, it got a write up in Imbibe Magazine.
Because the drink is bold, semi-bitter and spirit-forward, Castro wanted a name that would act as a fair warning as to its contents. It takes its name from the powerful, closely guarded secret and legendary death blow from one of his favorite movies, Kill Bill.
Castro highly recommends making this one specifically with Punt e Mes, Galliano Ristretto (coffee liqueur), Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters and El Silencio or Vida or any other smoky Del Maguey mezcal.
Punt e Mes is a particular sweet vermouth that has a touch of Amaro to it. If you don’t have Punt e Mes, you can make the drink with another sweet vermouth, then just add a barspoon of Cynar or Averna or something to help make up for missing bitterness.
In order to pair well with Punt e Mes, the coffee liqueur should be on the sweet-side. If you’re using a really dry, craft coffee liqueur like my usual, St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur, it’ll be a little too dry to work well with Punt e Mes, so in that case, I’d opt for a sweeter sweet vermouth to help balance it out.
Even though it’s only one dash, the chocolate bitters really help give the drink that final dimension to make it pop. This is particularly true because unlike a Negroni, there’s no garnish with this one.
It’s straightforward, but delicious. It’s somewhere in the realm of a Negroni or a Revolver, but really stands out as something unexpected. Castro figured out a secret combination of elements that are able to strike you deep in the center of your senses with the fire and resolve of The Bride on a mission. Enjoy!
Recipe:
1.5 oz (45 ml) Mezcal (smoky)
0.75 oz (22 ml) Punt e Mes
0.5 oz (15 ml) Coffee Liqueur
1 dash Chocolate Bitters
Stir with ice. Strain over large ice in an old fashioned glass. No garnish.
Music:
Kill Fiction by Niklas Ahlström
via Epidemic Sound
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Featured in this Episode:
El Silencio Mezcal
http://bit.ly/2zuNTCc
Punt e Mes
http://bit.ly/2pu9Sb4
Galliano Ristretto
http://bit.ly/2UDXH72
Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters
https://amzn.to/2TghCaD
Bitterman’s Xocolatl Mole Bitters
https://amzn.to/2UHHMEN
NOLA Coffee Liqueur
http://bit.ly/2tuk8RI
Bar Tools:
Schott Zwiesel Old Fashioned Glass (9.6 oz)
https://amzn.to/2IdvF0i
Japanese Style Jigger (Gunmetal Black)
https://amzn.to/2lLRN41
Beachbum Berry Skull Barspoon (Gunmetal Black)
https://amzn.to/2Py65BH
Hawthorne Strainer (Gunmetal Black)
https://amzn.to/2PHo89P
Mixing Glass
http://amzn.to/2lilEC5
