mary astor

1 oz London Dry Gin (Beefeater)
1 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau)
1/2 oz Sloe Gin (Atxa Pataxaran)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Tuesdays ago, I got back from work and decided to make one of the recipes that I had saved from Imbibe Magazine by Church Cummings at the Josephine Estelle within the New Orleans Ace Hotel. The drink was the Mary Astor which had little to do with the obscure classic the Astor or the modern bitter Aster Family Sour, but was closer to the Trellis with dry oxidized sherry pairing with sloe liqueur in a Sour format and to the Barbara West with its gin, dry sherry, and lemon. The name is most likely a tribute to the actress born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke who appeared under her stage name of Mary Astor and starred in movies such as The Maltese Falcon.
Once prepared, the Mary Astor introduced herself with a lemon oil nose over nutty and dark berry notes. Next, lemon and grape danced on the dry sip, and the swallow closed out the show with gin, nutty, and berry flavors.