2011

1 oz Campari
1 oz Lustau Dry Oloroso Sherry
1 oz Bonal Gentiane-Quina
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters
1 pinch Salt

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass rinsed with Fidencio Mezcal. Twist an orange peel over the top.

For my second drink at Local 149, bartender John Mayer suggested something on the lighter side containing Bonal. Originally, he had named it an "Acquired Taste," but he later changed it to a year. I mentioned that his tribute to what was en vogue then was similar to the Bartender's Bingo that Luke O'Neil and Sam Gabrielli invented the year in between then and now. Moreover, the combination of Campari and Bonal was one that I enjoyed recently in the Streets of San Miguel.
The orange oil from the twist and the mezcal from the rinse greeted the nose. A grape sip shared a hint of orange, and a nutty, gentian, and Campari swallow rounded out the drink. Regardless of the year slapped on to the name, these flavor combinations still hold up rather well.