br'er rabbit

2 oz Old Overholt Rye
1/2 oz Crème de Cassis
1/2 oz Salers Gentiane Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Float a barspoon of absinthe and twist a lemon peel over the top. Add a straw.

After a drink at J.M. Curley, I ventured over to the Red Line for I had to meet up with Andrea at Rendezvous for dinner. Once there, bartender Scott Holliday suggested a drink he had recently created to fulfill a customers request for something bitter and blackberry-like but not sweet. For the berry and bitter elements, Scott utilized black currant and gentiane-based liqueurs, respectively.
The lemon oil mingled with the floated absinthe's anise on the nose. A malt and berry sip led into rye, black currant, and bitter gentian flavors on the swallow. Later, as the absinthe integrated into the drink, anise and other herbal elements joined the Salers on the finish. Overall, I was impressed as how well the gentian worked with the cassis; it made for an interesting pairing for the Salers complemented the tartness of the black currant berry.