Rum

Last Rites

Name: Last Rites
Yield: 1 servings

Glass: Double Old-Fashioned

Martin Cate's smoky Smuggler's Cove riff layering mezcal under blended aged rum, with falernum, pineapple, and a double dash of Angostura.

rum tiki modern-craft shaken lime falernum tropical

Ingredients

fresh lime juice (0.75 oz)
fresh pineapple juice (0.75 oz)
falernum (0.5 oz)
Angostura bitters (2 dashes)
mezcal (0.5 oz)
blended aged rum (1.5 oz)
crushed ice (1 cup)
mint sprig (1)

Last Rites is one of Martin Cate's signature house creations from Smuggler's Cove, a modern revival drink that uses a small mezcal accent (under half an ounce) the way a Donn-era spec would use absinthe or Pernod, as a perfumed background note rather than a featured spirit. The blended-aged-rum-plus-mezcal pairing is the load-bearing move: the rum carries the body and the mezcal provides smoke that reads as bonfire rather than agave-forward. Two dashes of Angostura tie the falernum, pineapple, and lime together so the drink lands savory rather than sweet.¹

Brand recommendations. Best: Plantation Xaymaca or El Dorado 8 for the blended aged rum; Del Maguey Vida or Banhez for the mezcal; BG Reynolds or homemade falernum; Angostura aromatic bitters. Economical: Appleton Estate Signature for the rum; Mezcal Verde or Mezcal Amarás Espadín; John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum.

Instructions

In a shaker combine fresh lime juice, fresh pineapple juice, falernum, Angostura bitters, mezcal, and blended aged rum.
Add crushed ice and shake until chilled, about .
Pour unstrained into a double old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with a mint sprig.

Sources

Smuggler's Cove. https://smugglerscovesf.com (accessed 2026-05-03), the bar's official online presence; the Last Rites is part of the Smuggler's Cove modern-revival catalog this file's spec is built from. (Note: the Last Rites does not appear in the 2016 Smuggler's Cove book.) ↩