green jacket

1 1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Housemade Ginger Liqueur
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Scrappy's Celery Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice cubes. Top with (1+ oz) ginger beer and stir. Add a straw and garnish with a few additional drops of celery bitters.

For Memorial Day weekend, Andrea and I flew out to Chicago to visit her family in Indiana. On returning to Chicago before catching the flight home, we paid a visit to the Whistler. Bartender Paul McGee greeted us at the door when the bar opened at 6; we actually got there a little early and waited since our window of opportunity was only a little more than an hour. While waiting for the Whistler to open, I checked out the menu on the bar's website and spotted the Green Jacket, a quirky Cynar highball that caught my attention. Once inside and we were handed menus, I quickly noticed that the Green Jacket had disappeared; Paul surmised that Chicagoans had not developed as big of a taste for Cynar as Boston has. Therefore, they recently rotated the drink off the menu, but he was quite happy to make it for me. One of the ingredients in the drink was a housemade ginger liqueur made from ginger juice, overproof vodka, and simple syrup, but I imagine that Domaine de Canton or ginger syrup would make a decent substitution in a pinch.
The Scrappy's Celery Bitters contributed greatly to the Green Jacket's nose and set forth the herbal undercurrents in the drink early. Next, the sip was a crisp lemon and ginger flavor. The ginger continued on in the swallow along with the Cynar, pineapple, and a hint of celery. The trio of pineapple, Cynar, and ginger was a strong flavor combination that made the drink a success. Moreover, the Cynar and pineapple pairing reminded me of the excellent match Averna and pineapple made in the Averna Pineapple Shrub and Haverna.