What makes the grade as a best summer cocktail contender? We have a few favorites, sure, but to predict this summer’s runaway drink, we asked the pros at Death & Co. Unsurprisingly, they offered a tantalizing recipe.
Meet the Naked and Famous, a cocktail that’s gone on to become a modern classic since it was first drawn up more than a dozen years ago. It pulls on all the right strings, from agave spirits to spritz culture and the traditionalism of Chartreuse. It’s going to be your go-to this summer.
Apparently, Death & Co.’s Joaquin Soto came up with the drink in 2011 as “the bastard child born out of an illicit Oaxacan love affair between the classic Last Word and the Paper Plane, a drink Sam Ross created at the West Village bar Little Branch.” It’s equal parts mezcal, Yellow Chartreuse, Aperol, and lime juice and looks great in a coupe. And it’s proven quite popular, extending out and away from Death & Co. bars to other watering holes and, now, your home too.
Yellow Chartreuse plays a big role here, a liqueur made up of more than 100 plants, flowers, bark types, and spices. But if you can’t get your hands on the iconic bottle, you can make do by subbing in something like Galliano or Strega. Fortunately, there are a lot of lesser-known liqueurs out there that can be called upon in a pinch (but seek out Chartreuse first and foremost).
Another factor at play here is the flexibility of Aperol. The Italin aperitif is most known as the driving force in a spritz, but its bittersweet goodness translates to a number of great cocktails and works especially well with agave spirits like mezcal and tequila. Plus, you get some cool color from the stuff, making the resulting drink in this case an intriguing amber-honey hue.
Play around with the mezcal here a bit too, finding that sweet spot between fruit and earthy and savory. A little smoke is nice, and it’s even offset a bit by the other ingredients in the drink. In the end, all of the flavors come together quite seamlessly. No wonder the Naked and Famous is well on its way to becoming the it drink of summer 2025.
Be sure to check out Death & Co. if you’re even in one of the four cities the outfit now occupies. The esteemed drink-builders have bars in Los Angeles, Denver, New York City, and has a forthcoming place in Seattle set to open this summer. Having a cocktail there is a one-of-a-kind experience and will even inspire you to up your game at home.
Read on for the recipe.
Naked and Famous
As always, use freshly-squeezed citrus and go with a mezcal you like in its own right. Feel free to add a little flair and garnish with a dehydrated citrus wheel or the like.
Ingredients:
- 1 part mezcal
- 1 part Yellow Chartreuse
- 1 part Aperol
- 1 part lime juice
Method:
- Combine all ingredients with ice in tin and shake vigorously.
- Strain into a coupe glass (and garnish if you’d like).
