forte four

1/2 oz La Favorite Rhum Agricole
1/2 oz Old Monk Rum
1 oz Plantation Jamaican Rum
1 oz Lemon Hart 151
2 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dash Orange Bitters
2 dash Fee's Whiskey Barrel Bitters
2 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters
1 large Demerara Sugar Cube

Muddle sugar cube with a 1/4 oz of water until dissolved. Add rest of ingredients and ice, stir, and strain into a rocks glass with a large ice chunk. Garnish with an orange twist.

The other cocktail Drink bartender Joe Staropoli made me Sunday night was a 4 rum-4 bitter Old Fashioned that he called the Forte Four (Strong Four). The Forte Four was a good transition in terms of intensity from the Esmino's Escape, and was a completely different beast from the Four Rum Old Fashioned Ben Sandrof made me earlier in the year. Lots caramel and orange aromas filled the nose of the drink, while the sip was a bit rough at first with hogu notes from rhum agricole before smoothing out with the richer rums. Finally, the eight assorted dashes of bitters shined through at the swallow. The drink kept a high level of kick especially from the overproof Lemon Hart rum until the large ice shard had sufficiently melted towards the end of the drink.