20 Jul Where You Should Be Drinking on the Outer Cape: Blackfish + Smoke Show Cocktail Recipe

Where You Should Be Drinking on the Outer Cape: Blackfish

When we’re on Cape Cod, which we recently were, we’re creatures of habit. Set routines and familiar rhythms help us slip into relaxation mode more quickly. So, we stay at the same cottage in the same little town of Truro. Every day follows a pattern: breakfast on our beachside deck; morning bike ride; afternoon on the beach; ice cream whenever the truck from Provincetown arrives (yes, everyday; you’ll understand if you ever lived in Massachusetts and have moved out into the ice-cream-poor rest of the world); grill dinner; and once again eat it on our beachside deck. Once a week, we go into Provincetown for brunch, at the same cafe every time. Once a week, we go out to dinner at Blackfish. When we first started going to Blackfish, it was because it was the only Yelp-reviewed restaurant in Truro that wasn’t a seafood shack–we’re not big fans of fried fish. There are probably other options now, but we wouldn’t know. We haven’t looked; Blackfish is our place. We’re bound to be those people who drag their grandchildren there for a big helping of nostalgia long after food tastes have changed, and the restaurant has gone to seed.

Thankfully, that’s nowhere near the case yet.

The restaurant is tucked away in a big Cape Cod style house, built into and partially hidden by a hillside. From the outside, it looks like any other cottage, and stepping inside feels like you’re in on the secret–a secret shared by a full house of people enjoying their lively conversations. We find their fresh, local food, finely balanced between creative and traditional, delicious. The lamb merguez rigatoni we ordered this time was scrumptious: hearty, flavorful, comforting, and a little different. And the bar is quite decent too.

What We Ordered

Smoke Show: Vida mezcal, Aperol, tangerine juice, agave nectar

What We Thought

It took us a moment to recognize it, but this drink follows the classic daisy pattern: spirit + citrus + sweetener + liqueur. The big switch–and the one that makes the drink–is using tangerine juice instead of the usual lime or lemon. It gives the drink a more rounded, more sweet, less sour flavor, which blends very pleasingly with the smokiness of the mezcal. If you’re looking for something like a margarita, but different, give this one a try. It’s more complex and balanced than a margarita, but still pretty easy to drink; and it would go just as well with Mexican food.

The Smoke Show Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 oz mezcal
• 3/4 oz tangerine juice
• 1/2 oz Aperol
• 1/4 oz agave nectar

Instructions

• Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker.
• Fill with ice to just above the level of the liquid.
• Shake for about 20 seconds.
• Strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass.