[rye bittery experiment]

1 1/2 oz Old Overholdt Rye
1 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz Averna
1 dash Fee's Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters

Stirred with ice and strained into a rocks glass.

Last night, Andrea and I finally made it over to Drink in Fort Point Channel here in Boston. We figured that we would avoid the first week's crowds coupled with the bar's settling in process zaniness. We ended up sitting at the center of three connected bars (think the letter 'E' in block format). The left and right were John Gertsen and Ben Sandrof, both of No. 9 fame; the center bar where there were a few open seats was Sam, an old Eastern Standard alumni, who would be our bartender for the night.

Drink's format is a menuless one. The bartenders size you up during conversation to figure out what you would like to have. Around us, people were mentioning base spirits, dryness levels, fruit flavors, or herbal notes as starting points. I told Sam that I wanted something with rye and bitters to which he asked if I wanted something in the Manhattan vein. When I replied that I enjoyed bitter liqueurs, he asked if I liked Chartreuse. My answer was for him to go ahead and make something with rye and one of the Chartreuses.

Sam chose the green Chartreuse after picking up and putting down the yellow. He decided to fill in the gaps with Averna, an Italian Amaro that we're fond of at home. His creation gave all the appearances of a pure improvisation which is a neat feel. The end result was a slightly syrupy Green Point-tasting drink that was a pleasant sipper. It worked rather well as a digestif since my tummy was still full of dinner.