paper mill

3 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1 oz Cynar
2 dashes Fee Brothers Lemon Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Twist lemon peel over the top and discard.

Yesterday, Andrea was in Boston for a haircut appointment and I met up with her afterwards to get drinks at No. 9 Park. When I arrived, the bar was filled, so we decided to get food at Pho Pasteur in Chinatown in hopes that seats freed up. After a bellyful of noodles and lemongrass, we returned to find two glorious chairs on the short side of the bar.

For my first cocktail, I picked the Paper Mill which I do not remember seeing on the menu a few weeks ago. Matt said that Rick Messier, the other bartender at No. 9, created this one. The Paper Mill was rather similar to a Black Manhattan in that it is rye whiskey mixed with an amaro instead of vermouth. Tastewise, the lemon and Cynar really seemed to work well together in this cocktail, with their flavors mingling over a base of a spicy rye. The Fee's lemon bitters smelled very herbal with rosemary and marjoram notes coming through, and this might be part of why it worked with the Cynar. And thinking back to the Crown of Thorns, Cynar does go well with lemon juice, so lemon oil and lemon bitters could be acting in the same fashion.