ticket to paradise

1 oz Milagro Silver Tequila
1 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin
1 oz Housemade Swedish Punsch
1 barspoon Lemon Juice
2 dash Fee's Rhubarb Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I decided to make a road trip out to Worcester to get dinner at the Citizen. For my first beverage, I asked bartender Travis for the Ticket to Paradise which was the Swedish Punsch drink I passed up when I picked the Millionaire of Havana last time. The Punsch was paired up with tequila, a combination which I have experienced in Metexa from the Café Royal Cocktail Book, and with sloe gin, a combination that appears in the Mabel Berra Cocktail that I read about on the Two At The Most blog. I neglected to ask about the drink's name or origin, but if it was a nod to the Swedish Punsch, it could have been named after a somewhat obscure 1962 Swedish film.
The Ticket to Paradise began with a candied lemon aroma that prepared the drinker for the rich, citrussy sip. The swallow packed the biggest variety of flavors with tequila and Swedish Punsch's Batavia Arrack and spice notes. These potent elements were smoothed out by the tart sloe berry flavor that was complemented by the bitters' rhubarb notes at the end.