balmy night

1 oz Dry Sherry (Lustau Los Arcos Dry Amontillado)
1 oz Jamaican Rum (Appleton V/X)
1/2 oz Orange Juice
1/4 Curaçao (Curaçao of Curaçao)
1/4 Allspice Dram (St. Elizabeth's)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
The theme for last night's Thursday Drink Night on Mixoloseum was Allspice Dram cocktails. Allspice Dram, historically known as Pimento Dram, is a rum-based liqueur infused with allspice and often clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg which can add a Caribbean, Tiki, or Christmastime element to drinks. For inspiration, I borrowed the sherry-dram-Cointreau combination from the Balm cocktail and the rum-dram-orange juice from the Kingston Heights to yield the Balmy Night (which was apropos considering the unseasonably warm weather here in New England yesterday). The Balmy Night started with a robust orange nose from the peel oil and the freshly squeezed juice. On the sip, the nuttiness of the sherry was followed by the spiciness of the dram and Angostura bitters. Moreover, the sherry worked well with the orange flavors from the juice and curaçao liqueur, and the rum added some richness of flavor and much needed heat. One of the Mixoloseum participants who made the drink commented that the Balmy Night had a nice Polynesian feel to it with the sherry and rum combination and how the allspice notes towards the end of the sip rounded out the drink.