And I like mezcal, I like compari (that's why I could even make it!) but this is just one of the most fetid unpleasant drinks I have ever made. The bite of the mezcal is too cut by the compari, and the herbal notes lose their top notes and just leave you with the dry feeling on the back of your tongue. All the goodness is lost. No joy remains.
Give this to your curious teen and they will gladly stay sober until the day they move out. Jesus.
You can do a lot of fun stuff with just one bottle of base liquor, one or two liquers, and one or two bitters! For instance, I usually have gold tequila or gin, aperol or triple sec, and orange bitters. It's more about combining flavors you want and infusing ahead of time for fun home cocktails.
For instance, I really really like citrus and infused some cheap tequila with orange peels which made a really good shooter with some lime juice and sugar. I almost never have more than 2 bottles in the house but still make a variety of tasty drinks depending on what I'm eating or in the mood for.
The real skill to develop imo is how to balance liquor:sour:sweet:dilution:aromatics. Granted, I don't know the recipe for many classic cocktails, but that isn't really important to me.
I made most of my presents this year and came way under on gifts and put some of that money up for nice liquor this once so right now I have campari, tequila, gin, dry vermouth, triple sec, and mezcal. Found out I don't like vermouth much but I had never tried it before lol.
I mostly drink manhattans or whiskey neat so I have sweet vermouth which is very different to dry vermouth!