half sinner, half saint

2 oz Sweet Vermouth
2 oz Dry Vermouth
1 barspoon Pastis
Lemon Twist

In a rocks glass with ice, pour both vermouths and mix. Garnish with a lemon twist peeled over the drink. Float the pastis on top.

Last night, Andrea and I went to Rendezvous in Central Square (Cambridge, MA) where Scott Holliday was bartending. I had vermouths on my mind after reading the SFGate article that Andrea had emailed me earlier in the day, and went with the Half Sinner-Half Saint that I spotted on the cocktail menu. John Gertsen of No. 9 Park was the first to introduce me to this cocktail as a nightcap sometime last fall.

Scott's version used Noilly Pratt dry vermouth, Cinzano sweet vermouth, and Henri Bardouin pastis. He went a lot lighter on the pastis than the CocktailDB recipe suggests which is a 1/2 oz of herbsaint. Perhaps the lesser amount used for this menu item was to make it more accessible; however, there was definitely enough to deliver the anise flavor. The larger than average lemon twist added a wonderful aroma to the glass (Scott later explained last night his focus a lot on the smells of a drink as he creates a cocktail). And visually, the white cloudy louche on the top of the drink from the pastis makes an angelic halo which probably makes up the saint part of this drink. Which leaves to guess that the vermouths are the sinner (especially how many people avoid them like the devil in their drinks)?