“It’s a very nostalgic flavor,” says Moona general manager and beverage director Hassan Sawly when describing mastiha, or mastic, a chewy resin extracted from trees that grow on the Greek island of Chios.

Growing up in Lebanon, Sawly experienced the piney resin as a chewing gum or an ingredient in snacks like rice pudding. Now, he’s using it in a cocktail he calls the Mastic Tale.

The drink includes a half-ounce of Kleos, a Greek mastic liqueur, as well as tequila, apple cider, lime juice, agave syrup, and allspice dram—a curious mix of ingredients that form complementary layers of flavor.

The Mastic Tale is Sawly’s take on an autumnal cocktail reminiscent of mulled apple cider.  He combines apple cider with allspice dram, a liqueur with powerful notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, and adds Lunazul Blanco tequila for its fresh aromas of apple and agave. He boosts those agave notes with a splash of agave syrup. He finishes the drink with the Kleos, which adds herbaceous notes, a fall-friendly touch of pine, and—for him—a splash of nostalgia.

Mastic Tale
1 ounce Lunazul Blanco Tequila
1 ounce apple cider
½ ounce lime juice
½ ounce Kleos Mastiha
¼ ounce allspice dram
¼ ounce agave syrup
Lime wheel, for garnish

Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice and shake until chilled. Double strain into a double old-fashioned glass filled with ice and garnish with lime wheel.