floridian cocktail #3 variant

2 oz Michter's Rye
1/2 oz Carpano Antica
1/2 oz Creole Shrub
1 dash Abbott's Bitters

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

Last night, Andrea and I went to the French Library of Boston to hear a Christophe Laudamiel give a talk about the chemistry, neurobiology, and design and marketing of perfumes. Afterwards, we walked up Marlborough Street towards Eastern Standard to grab some dinner and a drink at the bar. Once some seats opened up, Hugh Fiore warmly greeted us. After handing him a bottle of the Abbott's bitters replica I had made, he was excited to put it to use. With the hint that the bitters work well with vermouths, he set to work. The closest drink I could find to what he made up for me is the Floridian Cocktail #3:

Floridian Cocktail #3
1 1/2 oz Rye
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz Orange Curacao
1/4 oz Amer Picon
1 dashes Aromatic Bitters
Add lemon twist.

Here, the Creole Shrub substituted for the curacao and Amer Picon (which sadly is now absent from the Eastern Standard's bar) in that recipe. The orange notes of the Creole Shrub were present under the more prominent bittery and spicy flavors. The Abbott's gave the drink a nice finish as well as some delightful clove notes. The flavor that stood out the most for Andrea was a strong cinnamon one which was probably from the synergy of the Carpano Antica vermouth with the cinnamon in the bitters.