Cocktail stories: Pasillo de Humo, Selva
Mexican bar Selva brings the scents of a Oaxaca market to life through its Pasillo de Humo serve.
*This feature was originally published in the March 2025 issue of The Spirits Business magazine.
The sights and sounds of Oaxaca – and its smells and flavours – are the inspiration for Pasillo de Humo, a cocktail created by Martina Marré, bar manager at the city’s Selva bar.
The name translates to ‘smoke corridor’, paying homage to one of Oaxaca’s food markets, 20 de Noviembre, which is home to a row of barbecue stalls. “You choose your meat and incredible grill masters prepare it on the charcoal grills, filling the long corridor with fragrant smoke,” explains Marré. She refers the resulting aroma as “the Chanel No 5 of Oaxaca. When your barbecue is ready, you can buy some tortillas, sides and sauces from the old women around the corner, sit at a shared table and make your own taco.”
To recreate the smells and vibes of the smoke corridor, Marré riffs on a Oaxacan Negroni with an equal-parts serve featuring Campari, vermouth, and mezcal. She uses the spices typical of chorizo adobo to infuse Mezcal Alipus San Juan, which is chosen for its particular smoke and chilli notes.
To evoke the flavour and aroma of tortillas, the bar team create a blue corn and corn-miso vermouth. The corn miso is acquired from a local restaurant, Labo Fermento, which focuses on fermentation. The Campari is left unaltered, bringing its iconic bitterness, and the serve is completed with a tiny toasted tortilla as a garnish.
How to make the Pasillo de Humo
For the spiced butter mezcal:
700ml Mezcal Alipus San Juan
150g Unsalted smoked butter
5g Ancho chilli
5g Smoked paprika
5g Warm salt
5g Cumin
2g Coriander seeds
4g Dried rosemary
Method: Melt the butter with the spices and let it infuse at 45°C for 20 minutes. Add the spiced butter to 700ml of mezcal and mix it. Put in the freezer for 12 hours, then strain through a coffee filter.
For the corn vermouth mix:
100g Blue corn
350ml Lillet Blanc vermouth
350ml Dolin dry vermouth
30g Corn miso (from Labo Fermento in Oaxaca)
Method: Toast the blue corn in a pan and add to a vacuum bag with the remaining ingredients. Sous vide at 55°C for two hours, then strain through a coffee filter.
Pasillo de Humo
30ml Mezcal Alipus San Juan infused with spiced butter
30ml Corn vermouth mix
30ml Campari
Method: Add the ingredients to a mixing glass full of ice, stir it for 15 seconds then pour into an Old Fashioned glass with a big chunk of ice. Garnish with a small totopo topped with spicy cream, Chiapas cheese, coriander, and lime zest.
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