It’s smoky, it’s fruity, it’s yum – if you needed a sign to start doing this, here are five different ways to upgrade your OG cocktails with mezcal.

Ah, mezcal – tequila’s smokin’ hot older brother. Long hidden in the shadows of its more famous sibling, mezcal’s coming out of its cage and it’s doin’ just fine. Actually, more than fine, its popularity across the world has grown rapidly and shows no signs of slowing.

Like tequila, mezcal is crafted from agave plants (commonly known as ‘maguey’ in Mexico). Unlike tequila, which can only be made from Blue Weber agave, mezcal can be made from around 40 different species. That said, Espadin is by far the most common, making up around 90% of production. It’s also notably smokier than tequila. This iconic smoky profile arises from the prolonged, slow braising of the agave’s heart (or piña) over several days. But it’s key to note that mezcal varies wildly in style, ranging from intensely smoky and earthy to clean and floral with just a subtle hint of smoke.

If you’re jumping on the mezcal train, its delicious complexity makes it an interesting base to swap into your classic cocktails. Most obviously in your Marg (or Tommy’s Marg), but also in things like Old Fashioneds, Negronis and even Martinis. So, to make use of this growing and incredibly interesting spirit, we’ve rounded up a few of our favourite swaps, so you too can fall in love with mezcal.

1. The Margarita and Tommy’s Margarita

Tequila and mezcal are kindred spirits – in fact, tequila is technically a type of mezcal. They’re both made from agave and hail from the beautiful land of Mexico. The difference is in the taste – your blanco tequila is crisp, bright and green, and mezcal is smoky, sometimes fruity and chewy. So, it makes sense that when subbing a spirit out for mezcal, the first place to experiment is with a tequila cocktail. And what’s the best tequila cocktail to grace planet Earth? The Margarita. There are a couple of ways to approach this. You can do a mix of tequila and mezcal as the base – especially good in a Tommy’s Margarita, (it’s Shirley Yeung approved). Or you can do a straight-up switch. However, if you’re not familiar with mezcal, the half-half mix is a great opportunity to flex those tastebuds before diving in.

2. The Mezcal Negroni

Now, we know we may get a bit of heat from the Negroni devotees, but the Mezcal Negroni is off-chops. However, it does take a bit of tinkering to get right. The classic Negroni, which is equal parts red/sweet vermouth, gin and Campari, is designed so each botanical in the ingredients sit harmoniously with each other. When we take gin out and add mezcal, those flavours become more stark and isolated, and instead of a rounded Negroni, it's a much sharper drink. Now, you can leave it there – pointy and smoky, which, like the classic, is equal parts. Or you can have a play. For example, try an absinthe wash (coating the interior of the glass with a few dashes of absinthe, swirling, and then discarding the spirit), or chuck in 8mL of creme de cacao to play off the mezcal, or even try mixing through a Spanish sweet vermouth instead. Either way, you end up with a beautifully smoky twist on a much-loved favourite.

3. The Old Fashioned

If you've ever kicked back with an Old Fashioned, you'd get that it's a really bold drink. Being only three ingredients – bitters, sugar syrup and whisky – it’s mostly rockin' the taste of the whiskey you put in. It's the same deal for any base spirit you roll with, whether that’s mezcal, tequila or a mix of both. You've gotta be into the flavour, so make sure you're digging it. When we take the whisky out of the cocktail and replace it with mezcal and/or tequila, it becomes the Oaxaca Old Fashioned. It’s a fairly new drink, created by Death & Co’s Phil Ward in 2007, but when made right, it’s a wonderfully complex sipper. Simply replace your 50mL of whisky with 45mL of your chosen reposado tequila and 15mL of mezcal, and sub the simple syrup for agave syrup. What you’re left with is a strong agave-flavoured cocktail that is both sweet and smoky. Hot tip: if you prefer the taste of mezcal to tequila, then add more mezcal and less tequila to the mix. You can also play around with the bitter flavours. Use the OG Angostura Bitters, or have a whirl at splashing some chocolate bitters in there instead.

4. The Mezcal Martini

Stay with us. Mezcal in a Martini is actually bloody delish. In the very best Martinis, the gin binds with the vermouth to make a wonderfully well-balanced, rounded cocktail (similar to the Negroni). When mezcal is subbed in for gin, things get a little complicated. You can still match some of those mezcal flavours with the vermouth’s botanicals, but it’s not as harmonious a drink. Again, that smokiness from the mezcal is fairly dominant, so making this Martini dirty, with a savoury, almost umami olive brine works in its favour. This brilliant twist on the Martini is credited to Ricardo Echeverri from the New York bar Jeremy’s and is affectionately named the I Am Keith Hernandez (of baseball and Seinfeld glory). His Mezcal Martini looks a bit like this: 45mL mezcal, 15mL dry vermouth, 15mL olive brine. The beauty of this Martini (and any really) is that it's as malleable as you want it to be, so feel free to change the specs to taste.

5. The Mezcal Espresso Martini

Lastly, because everyone and their dog loves a cheeky Espresso Martini, here’s a solid mezcal variation that plays on the classic. Known as the La Vive cocktail, the drink uses all the familiar ingredients you’d find in an Espresso Martini but subs in mezcal for vodka and adds 10mL of orgeat syrup with a couple of dashes of Mexican mole bitters for intrigue (or use regular chocolate bitters if that’s too hard to find). The result is an Espresso Martini that has all the markers of the tradish, including the garnish and famed frothy top, but with a beautiful fruity smokiness.