Thad Vogler’s Single Village Fix

Words by Robert Simonson. Photograph by Lizzie Munro.

The Single Village Fix, an early modern mezcal cocktail, is not just one of San Francisco bar owner Thad Vogler’s best-known creations; it’s one of his “only creations,” said Vogler.

“Like Sasha Petraske, I’ve been less interested in innovation or invention,” explained Vogler. Instead, he’d rather hone his execution of long-established classic cocktails. “Agave spirits are a bit of an exception because they are less represented in the canon.”

Mezcals run the gamut in flavor, from vegetal to fruity. The latter style reminded Vogler of pineapple, so in 2008 he paired it with a pineapple gum syrup that he had developed with Jennifer Colliau to use in Pisco Punch. (Colliau went on to found Small Hand Foods, which now commercially produces the syrup.) He put it on the opening menu at Beretta, a pizzeria with a top-shelf cocktail program of his devising. It was a popular order right off.

“Beretta and my home were and are in the Mission, the Spanish-speaking part of the city,” said Vogler. “I wanted to represent the spirit in the neighborhood, and it’s such a beautiful spirit. Also, I’m interested in provenance with spirits, so the single village mezcals were some of the few spirits that are traceable that way.” He later featured it on the menu of his first bar and restaurant, the influential Bar Agricole.

“I feel it’s emblematic of my career,” he said. “The drink is simple. It’s basically a Milk & Honey drink with an eye toward the quality of the spirit and ingredients.”

Modern Classic Cocktails: 60+ Stories and Recipes from the New Golden Age in Drinks by Robert Simonson is available now.

Modern Classic Cocktails: 60+ Stories and Recipes from the New Golden Age in Drinks by Robert Simonson, copyright © 2022. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.”