van dieman

1/4 Canadian Club Whiskey (3/4 oz, equal parts Eagle Rare Bourbon + Midnight Moon)
1/4 Dry Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat)
1/4 Caloric Punch (3/4 oz homemade Swedish Punsch)
1/4 Yellow Chartreuse (3/4 oz)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
On Tuesday night, Andrea desired a whiskey-based nightcap, so I found the Van Dieman in the pages of the Café Royal Cocktail Book. I am not sure if the unique spelling of this drink's name was intentional or a misspelled reference to Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, where British convicts were once sent. Since we lacked Canadian whiskey, I simulated the lighter style with a Bourbon diluted with Midnight Moon un-aged corn whiskey. Andrea's reaction after her first sip of the Van Dieman was, "sweet, vanilla-y with an herbal aftertaste." The vanilla notes were most likely a combination of the barrel aging of both the Bourbon and the Punsch's Appleton VX. Dilution of the Bourbon was probably not that necessary as it ended up playing a diminutive role in the final balance. The dominant flavors were the Swedish Punsch and yellow Chartreuse which paired up rather well; moreover, they donated a lot of spice at the end of the swallow especially from the Punsch's Batavia Arrack.