Naked and Famous
Modern Classic Cocktail
A modern equal-parts cocktail built with mezcal, Aperol, Yellow Chartreuse, and fresh lime juice.
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Method & Technique
LMA service specification
0.75 oz Del Maguey Chichicapa mezcal
0.75 oz Aperol
0.75 oz Yellow Chartreuse
0.75 oz fresh lime juice
No garnish
Add all ingredients to a shaker tin. Add fresh, solid ice and shake hard until the cocktail is properly chilled, diluted, and integrated. Fine strain into a well-chilled coupe or appropriately sized Nick & Nora glass. Serve immediately without garnish.
Del Maguey Chichicapa is the historically specific mezcal. When it is unavailable, LMA may approve another balanced, assertive espadín mezcal, but the completed cocktail must be tested before that bottle becomes the house standard. “Any smoky mezcal” is not a responsible substitution policy.
Fine straining is the LMA presentation standard. It removes pulp and small ice fragments, producing a cleaner surface and more polished texture. Historical recipes may simply instruct the bartender to strain.
Do not stir the drink. Fresh lime requires shaking for proper chill, dilution, aeration, and integration.
Do not substitute Green Chartreuse at the same measurement. Green Chartreuse is stronger, sharper, more intensely herbal, and materially different. That substitution creates a new drink requiring a new specification.
Do not substitute Campari for Aperol without reformulating. Campari contributes substantially more bitterness and would overwhelm the original balance.
Related Core Methods
- Shaking Method
Straining Method
Citrus Handling Method
Glassware & Chill Standards
Ice Handling Standards
Juice & Syrup Handling Standards
Pour Standards
Labeling & Storage Standards
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Guest Story
The Naked and Famous is an excellent recommendation for guests who enjoy mezcal, Aperol, Paper Planes, Last Words, modern classics, or bright shaken cocktails with bitterness and herbal depth.
A clear guest description is:
“It’s an equal-parts modern classic made with mezcal, Aperol, Yellow Chartreuse, and fresh lime. It’s smoky, bright, bittersweet, herbal, and refreshing.”
It can be a bridge for a Margarita drinker who wants something smokier and more complex, provided that guest is comfortable with herbal and bitter flavors. It is also a strong recommendation for a Paper Plane drinker who wants a brighter, smokier interpretation of the same equal-parts philosophy.
It is not the best recommendation for someone asking for something creamy, bubbly, very sweet, tropical, or low-intensity. The cocktail is balanced, but every ingredient is expressive.
For the bartender, the Naked and Famous teaches equal-parts discipline, mezcal selection, modifier balance, citrus execution, and the difference between structural similarity and careless substitution.
For the owner, it is a recognized modern classic with strong bartender credibility. It is also a premium-cost cocktail because of Yellow Chartreuse and potentially expensive mezcal, so the selling price must be built from the actual pour cost.
Where It Came From
The Naked and Famous was created in 2011 by bartender Joaquín Simó at Death & Co in New York City. Its creator, venue, original ingredients, and equal-parts formula are unusually well documented for a modern cocktail.
Simó developed the drink while working with mezcal in Oaxaca. He has described its structure as a meeting point between two influential equal-parts cocktails: the Last Word and Sam Ross’s Paper Plane.
The connection becomes clear when the drinks are placed side by side:
The Last Word establishes the four-part combination of spirit, herbal liqueur, sweet modifier, and fresh citrus.
The Paper Plane applies that equal-parts logic to whiskey, Aperol, amaro, and lemon.
The Naked and Famous uses mezcal, Aperol, Yellow Chartreuse, and lime.
The historical original specifies Del Maguey Chichicapa mezcal. That detail matters. Chichicapa supplies roasted agave, fruit, earth, smoke, and enough intensity to remain present beside Yellow Chartreuse and Aperol. The original drink was shaken, served up in a coupe, and left ungarnished.
The name is widely reported as a reference to “Naked & Famous,” a song by the musician Tricky. That explanation is credible and repeatedly published, but it is not documented as strongly as the cocktail’s creator, date, venue, and recipe. Bartenders should present it as the accepted naming story rather than an absolutely proven fact.
There is no serious competing claim to the drink’s creation. Descriptions such as “a mezcal Paper Plane” are useful shorthand, but they are interpretations of its structure, not alternate origin stories.
Bartender Notes
- This is a true equal-parts cocktail.
The historical mezcal is Del Maguey Chichicapa.
Use an approved mezcal with clear agave character and controlled smoke.
Use Aperol, not Campari.
Use Yellow Chartreuse, not Green Chartreuse.
Use freshly squeezed lime juice.
Shake hard; do not stir.
Fine strain into properly chilled glassware.
Serve up.
No garnish is the original and LMA standard.
Measure every ingredient accurately; a quarter-ounce error is significant in an equal-parts build.
Do not assume all mezcal will behave identically.
Yellow Chartreuse is powerful even though it is softer than Green Chartreuse.
The drink should taste integrated—not like four separate ingredients.
The finished cocktail should be cold, smoky, bright, bittersweet, herbal, citrusy, and balanced.
It should not be warm, overly smoky, candy-sweet, aggressively sour, medicinal, or dominated by Chartreuse.
Chartreuse cost and availability require accurate pouring, inventory control, and menu pricing.
If an ingredient is unavailable, document the approved replacement. Do not allow bartender-by-bartender improvisation.
Deep Dive
The Naked and Famous succeeds because four forceful ingredients are given equal responsibility.
The mezcal
The mezcal provides the drink’s foundation: roasted agave, earth, smoke, fruit, minerality, and spirit weight.
The historical Chichicapa specification is especially valuable because it demonstrates that the drink was not designed around generic smoke. The original mezcal has enough personality to remain identifiable without turning the cocktail into a smoke delivery system.
When selecting another house mezcal, look for:
Clear cooked-agave character
Moderate but present smoke
Sufficient proof and body
Fruit or mineral complexity
A finish that remains clean beside Aperol and Chartreuse
An extremely smoky mezcal can make the drink harsh and one-dimensional. A delicate mezcal may disappear completely. The correct test is the completed cocktail, not the spirit tasted alone.
A tequila-and-mezcal split can make a pleasant house variation, but it is no longer the original Naked and Famous formula.
Aperol
Aperol supplies bittersweet orange, restrained bitterness, softness, and color. Its comparatively gentle profile is deliberate.
Campari is not a direct substitute. Replacing Aperol with Campari increases bitterness and intensity enough to change the cocktail’s structure. A Campari version may be enjoyable, but it needs a rewritten ratio and should be named as a variation.
Yellow Chartreuse
Yellow Chartreuse contributes herbal complexity, floral notes, spice, honeyed sweetness, and a long aromatic finish. It is softer and lower in proof than Green Chartreuse, but it is not a weak ingredient.
Green Chartreuse cannot simply be poured in at the same measurement. It will produce a more forceful, sharper, higher-proof drink and can overpower both Aperol and lime. If Green Chartreuse is the only product available, the bar should create and test a separate house specification rather than quietly substituting it.
Because Yellow Chartreuse can be costly or difficult to source, the team must understand that availability is an operational concern, not permission to alter the cocktail invisibly.
Fresh lime
Lime supplies the acid that keeps Aperol and Yellow Chartreuse from becoming heavy. Its sharper profile also complements mezcal better here than a softer citrus would.
Freshness is non-negotiable. Old lime juice can taste dull, bitter, or oxidized. Bottled lime juice removes the brightness that gives the drink its tension.
The equal-parts recipe assumes a functioning citrus program. If the house lime is unusually acidic, the answer is ingredient evaluation and controlled testing, not random adjustments by individual bartenders.
Equal-parts structure
The simplicity of four equal pours is deceptive. Equal parts does not mean equal flavor strength. Mezcal, Aperol, Yellow Chartreuse, and lime each affect sweetness, acidity, alcohol, bitterness, aroma, and texture differently.
The specification works because each ingredient restrains another:
Lime checks the sweetness of Aperol and Chartreuse.
Yellow Chartreuse softens and lengthens the lime.
Aperol connects citrus to the herbal liqueur.
Mezcal gives the entire drink weight, dryness, and aromatic identity.
Precision matters because every ingredient occupies 25 percent of the undiluted drink. A heavy Chartreuse pour can make it medicinal. Excess lime makes it thin and sharp. Too much Aperol makes it soft and candied. Too much mezcal can flatten the modifiers beneath smoke and alcohol.
The family relationship
The Naked and Famous should be understood through lineage rather than treated as an isolated recipe:
Last Word: gin, Green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, lime
Paper Plane: bourbon, Aperol, amaro, lemon
Naked and Famous: mezcal, Aperol, Yellow Chartreuse, lime
All three use four equal ingredients and fresh citrus, but they do not taste interchangeable. The Naked and Famous borrows the architecture of older drinks while creating an unmistakably modern agave-centered identity.
Shake, glassware, and garnish
This cocktail must be properly shaken. A weak shake leaves it warm, overly sharp, and disconnected. A strong controlled shake produces the correct chill, dilution, aeration, and integration.
The glass must be cold before service because there is no ice in the finished drink. A warm coupe immediately shortens the cocktail’s ideal drinking window.
No garnish is the historical presentation and the cleanest service standard. The cocktail already has a complete aromatic profile from mezcal, Chartreuse, Aperol, and lime. Adding a lime wheel, orange peel, herb sprig, or smoked presentation can distract from that precision.
Variations and recipe integrity
Possible house variations include:
A different approved mezcal
A tequila-mezcal split
A slightly adjusted lime measure for a documented citrus standard
A related drink using another orange aperitivo
A new specification built around Green Chartreuse
A garnished presentation for a specific menu concept
All may be valid house cocktails, but they should not automatically retain the Naked and Famous name. The classic identity remains equal parts mezcal, Aperol, Yellow Chartreuse, and fresh lime, shaken and served up without garnish.
A properly made Naked and Famous should be cold, bright, smoky, bittersweet, herbal, citrusy, and thoroughly integrated. The guest should experience one complete cocktail, not mezcal followed by lime followed by Chartreuse.
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