Division Bell
Mezcal, Aperol, maraschino and lime, shaken. Phil Ward's 2009 Death & Co drink — a Last Word's structure with smoke and bitter orange, and one of the first mezcal cocktails to become a standard.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe.
Add the mezcal, Aperol, maraschino and lime juice to a shaker.
Fill with ice and shake hard for 12 seconds.
Double strain into the chilled coupe and express a grapefruit twist over the top.
A thoughtful finish
- A quarter-ounce of maraschino; it is a seasoning here.
- A moderate-smoke espadín.
- Express the grapefruit twist and discard it; the oil is the garnish.
Common mistakes
- Too much maraschino.
- Campari for Aperol, which makes a much more bitter drink.
- Bottled lime.
A few good questions.
What does a Division Bell taste like?
Smoke, bitter orange and lime with a faint cherry-almond sweetness — bright and complex.
Who created it?
Phil Ward at Death & Co, New York, 2009.
Why the name?
The Pink Floyd album.
Is it a Last Word?
Same four-part structure — spirit, liqueur, maraschino, citrus — with different proportions.
Variations
- La Última Palabra — Mezcal, green Chartreuse, maraschino and lime.
- Naked and Famous — Mezcal, yellow Chartreuse, Aperol and lime.
- Last Word — Gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino and lime.
- Paper Plane — Bourbon, Aperol, Nonino and lemon.
Where it comes from
2009 · New York · Phil Ward · Death & Co
Phil Ward made the Division Bell at Death & Co in New York in 2009, named for the Pink Floyd album, as a mezcal drink in the Last Word’s four-part shape: mezcal for the spirit, Aperol for the bitter-sweet modifier, maraschino for the funky sweetness and lime for the acid. It came in the first wave of mezcal cocktails and has outlasted most of them, a drink that makes mezcal approachable without hiding it. The proportions are not equal: the mezcal leads, the Aperol is half, and the maraschino is a quarter-ounce. A grapefruit twist is the garnish and suits the Aperol.
Sources
- David Kaplan, Nick Fauchald and Alex Day, Death & Co, 2014 (book)
- Difford's Guide, Division Bell, 2012 (reference)
- Punch, Division Bell, 2015 (reference)
Strength. About 1.4 US standard drinks at an estimated 20.6% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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