prospector

1 1/4 oz Laird's Applejack
3/4 oz Batavia Arrack
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Honey Syrup (2:1)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe containing ~1 oz Gruet dry sparkling wine. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

For my second drink at Kask in Portland, I asked bartender Ciaran Wiese for the Prospector. When I later saw bar manager Tommy Klus at a Portland versus Seattle soccer game a few days later, he described how the Prospector was one of the first drinks created for the inaugural Kask cocktail menu. This Prospector was different than the herbal-chocolate one from Vancouver's Pourhouse that I wrote about back in 2009; this one was more akin to a tricked out Bee's Knees with Batavia Arrack and sparkling wine.
The Prospector showed off its honey and apple components on the nose along with spice notes from the nutmeg garnish. The lemon, honey, and white wine sip led into further sparkling wine notes and Batavia Arrack on the swallow. The finish was a bit intriguing for I could not place where the cherry-almond notes were coming from.