caucus club

1 1/2 oz Barbancourt Rhum
1/2 oz Averna
1/2 oz St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur
1/2 oz Blandy's 5 Year Malmsey Madeira
1/4 oz Honey Syrup
1 Whole Egg

Shake once without ice and once with ice, strain into a glass, and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

One of the servers at Loyal Nine is obsessed with Flips regardless of the weather. In developing one to satisfy his requests, I scanned the shelves for unused ingredients and happened upon the St. George Spiced Pear. That ingredient made me think of the Endicott Cobbler that I created at Russell House Tavern. Instead of the sherry to pair with the Averna and fruit liqueur, I opted for the house preference of Madeira, and to give the drink a back bone, I selected a rich Haitian rum. While it turned out rather well, it needed a touch of sweetness to fulfill the dessert role, and a dash of honey syrup was the answer.
The drink lived for over a month without a name, and last week it felt like the time to give it an identity. I took the historical angle and looked for a parallel group to the Loyal Nine besides the Sons of Liberty. One that caught my attention was the Boston Caucus Club, a political organization that had great influence leading up to the Revolution and led to the word "caucus" being associated with politics. The club frequently met in taverns such as the Salutation and the Green Dragon Taverns to plot their rebellious ways. Moreover, the latter location was where they schemed the Boston Tea Party in 1773.