If the Last Word and the Paper Plane would have a a legally recognized child born out of wedlock or with other words the “bastard love child” of the Last Word and the Paper Plane.
In a Glass
Ingredients: Mezcal, Aperol, Yellow Chartreuse, Limejuice
Taste: Bitter, Sour, Smoky
Alc. Strength: approx 17% to 24%
Garnish: Orange Zest
Tools: Shaker, Strainer, Fine Strainer
Glass: Coupe
So let’s do the cocktail and let’s meet each other for a Glass
The Recipe
2.25 cl Mezcal
2.25 cl Aperitivo bitter
2.25 cl Yellow Chartreuse
2.25 cl lime juice
Glass: Coupe
Ice: Neat
Garnish: No Garnish or a Lime Wedge
Method:
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into the pre-chilled glass.
The Taste
The Taste of a Naked and Famous is a mix of smoky, depending on the Taste of the Mezcal, slightly bitter because of the Aperitivo Bitter, in the original Recipe Joaquin Simó uses Aperol and herbal from Chartreuse Jaune, as refreshing Counter the Lime juice brings a little bit acidity to also balance the whole cocktail.
The History
A cocktail that evolved into a modern classic with the growing popularity of agave-based spirits. The story of the Naked and Famous begins around 2011 at the legendary Death&Co with a Bartender named Joaquín Simó. Since then his excursion through cocktail history began.
Simó himself describes the cocktail as the “bastard love child” of the classic Last Word and the modern Paper Plane, born in the mountains of Oaxaca, the home of mezcal. Indeed, the Naked & Famous adopts the characteristic equal-parts structure of both cocktails but swaps out gin or bourbon for mezcal, combining it with Aperol, Yellow Chartreuse and fresh lime juice.
Simó creation is an unusual combination of ingredients, at least till then, but it was this combination that made the drink so special. At the first look on the Recipe smoky mezcal, bittersweet Aperol, the herbal sweetness of Chartreuse Jaune and fresh lime juice might seem like it’s not gonna work, but. But if you’re tasting your first Naked and Famous you will see how well it works.
The base spirit and key component of this Cocktail is mezcal, which needs to be bold and smoky. Simó originally used Del Maguey Chichicapa, a Espadin Mezcal with 48 Vol.% and an intense character with a long finish, strong enough to stand against the other two liqueurs. At the same time, he deliberately chose Aperol over Campari and the milder Chartreuse Jaune over the more intense green version. This keeps the drink balanced and lets everything shine through and ensures that the mezcal remains the star of the show. And what about the garnish? In many recipes, the Naked and Famous is served without a garnish not because it was forgotten or for the sake of minimalism, but because the drink is balanced and complete, quite simply, nothing else is needed.
The unusual name comes from the 1996 song “Tricky Kid” by the British musician Tricky. One line goes: “Everybody wants to be naked and famous.” Simó, who had liked the song since his youth, adopted this line as the name for his cocktail.
It can be counted among the modern classics,at latest since 2020, when the IBA added the drink to its official cocktail list. Today, it is a staple in the repertoire of any cocktail bar. With its equal-parts recipe, it is easy to memorize and impossible to forget. It is also the cocktail that helped mezcal achieve its breakthrough.
Joaquin once remarked, “I never expected this particular cocktail to become my most famous creation”.
Yet it did, and that is a good thing.
My Take
2.25cl Mezcal
2.25cl Aperol
2.25cl Chartreuse Jaune
2.25cl Lime juice
Glass: Coupe
Ice: Neat
Garnish: No Garnishe
Like told the cocktail is so balanced it doesn’t need a garnish. So there are four ingredients: Lime juice, Chartreuse Jaune, Aperol and Mezcal. The recipe stands or falls on the mezcal. It needs to be a bold one that can compete against the other ingredients otherwise you just have a herbal undefined something.
Variants and relatives
Last Word
Gin · Chartreuse Verte · Maraschino · Lime
Paper Plane
Bourbon · Aperitivo bitter · Amaro · Lemon
If you like the Naked and Famous, than maybe you have to try:
Paperplane
Bourbon · Aperitivo bitter · Amaro · Lemon
Last Word
Gin · Chartreuse Verte · Maraschino · Lime
Division Bell
Mezcal · Aperitivo bitter · Maraschino · Lime
