midnight matinee

1 1/2 oz Lustau Dry Oloroso
1 1/2 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz Vanilla-Passion Fruit Syrup (1/4 oz each of BG Reynolds' Vanilla Syrup and Passion Fruit Syrup) (*)
1 tsp Nardini Amaro
1 tsp Laphroaig Quarter Cask Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year)

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass with large ice. Garnish with an orange twist.
(*) Perhaps passion fruit syrup plus 2-3 drops of vanilla extract would have kept the volumes intact.
After the Hadley's Tears, I turned to the recipes I received from the 2014 Vinos de Jerez Cocktail Competition. The one that called out to me and could be made with ingredients already on my shelves was the Midnight Matinee by Amanda Elder of Manhattan's Pouring Ribbons. This recipe that scored runner-up honors came across as a play on the Amour and Bamboo cocktails. Once prepared, the Midnight Matinee shared an orange oil aroma over that of the sherry and vermouth's grape. The grape continued on into the sip where it mingled with the passion fruit notes. Lastly, the swallow offered a lot of complexity with smoky notes from the Scotch, nutty ones from the sherry, and vanilla ones in the finish from the syrup.