This fall brought a wild new flavor to the drinks list at The Pass & Provisions, where Paranubes Oaxacan rum is new to the shelf - and to America, where it arrived for the first time this past spring.

This small-batch aguardiente de caña, wild-fermented from sugar cane juice in the mountain cloud forests of the state, tasted like nothing I had ever experienced when bartender-in-chief Stuart Humphries poured me a small taste.

Or so I thought at first. Deep and round and fruity beneath its current of volatility, the clear spirit had an unexpected note of meaty funk that made me exclaim involuntarily. A sip or two later, I made the connection: the Paranubes reminded me of Mezcal de Pechuga, the Oaxacan agave spirit that is redistilled with a raw chicken breast, giving it a pronounced umami savor.

Sipped straight, the Paranubes is surprisingly suave and luxurious. It shines, too, in the $13 Beginner's Luck cocktail Humphries came up with as a showcase. Mixed with orange, lemon and clove, plus a jot of angostura bitters, the rum adds its haunting savory undertone to a russet-hued drink that tastes and looks like fall. It's spicy and sweet in a graceful, balanced way that's made complex by the stealth meatiness of this unusual spirit.

More Information The Pass & Provisions, 807 Taft, 713-628-9020; passandprovisions.com

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That is par for the course for the well-made cocktails at the bar that serves chef Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan's double-threat tasting-menu-only The Pass and more-casual Provisions restaurants.

A succession of immaculate drinks here in recent months have persuaded me that this is not only one of the best restaurant bars in the city, it can also compete with our top craft-cocktail specialists. Humphries came to his post through Hay Merchant and Anvil; and he has collected a talented crew at The Pass & Provisions. A fun happy-hour menu and food from the regular Provisions menu add to the appeal.

If you like fairy tales, there's a modern one attached to the debut of Paranubes on the American market. Judah Kuper, co-founder of Mezcal Vago - the celebrated distributor of small-batch traditional mezcals - discovered the family distillery of Jose Luis Carrera on one of his mezcal-hunting mountain forays. Struck by the character of the aguardiente de caña, he offered to package and export his rum. Try a sip, and you'll taste why.