catcher in the rye

1 1/2 oz Rye (Sazerac 6 Year)
1 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau Dry)
1/2 oz Torani Amer
1/4 oz Grand Marnier
1 dash Abbott's Bitters (*)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
(*) The recipe recommends subbing vanilla bean-infused Angostura or vanilla-bean infused Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters; however, regular Angostura Bitters should work fine here.

For a nightcap two Saturdays ago, I decided to make a drink created by Brooke Arthur of Prospect in San Francisco. The recipe which appeared in the May/June issue of Imbibe Magazine was entitled the Catcher in the Rye; besides the whiskey element alluded to in the name, it contained some interesting sounding orange and grape elements. While I used Sazerac 6 Year Rye, the two whiskeys she has used in the past for her J.D. Salinger tribute are Wild Turkey and Rittenhouse 100 Ryes which are both on the spicier side.The Catcher in the Rye began with a variety of orange aromas from the twist, Torani Amer, and Grand Marnier. The orange notes continued on in the sip where they joined the sherry's grape. The nuttier aspect of the Amontillado sherry fell in the swallow along with the rye and the Abbott's Bitters spice. The bitters definitely tied the drink together and gave a bit of complexity that was more noticeable here than in other recipes. Moreover, the recipe seemed to be a few dashes of Maraschino liqueur shy from completely reminding me of a Hoskins Cocktail regardless of the different base spirit. Overall, in Andrea's words, the Catcher in the Rye was a "very nice, very dry sherry cocktail."