2 to 2

1 1/2 oz Aperol
1 oz Absinthe (Kübler)
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Simple Syrup
1 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed orange twist.

For our second drink on Sunday night, I selected the 2 to 2 from the Rogue Cocktail Book. The drink was created by Violet Hour's Stephen Cole and works as a companion drink to the Broken Shoe Shiner in theme. The drink is another reference to Jean Lanfray whose murderous acts were blamed on absinthe consumption instead of just plain drunkenness. The name makes reference to how Lanfray was said to have been drunk from 2pm to 2am daily.
The combination of Aperol and absinthe's louching in the 2 to 2 produced an intriguing cloudy peachy orange color, and the drink's nose was dominated by the orange oils from the twist and the anise from the absinthe. The 2 to 2 was a bit more stripped down than the Broken Shoe Shiner as it lacks pineapple juice, Benedictine liqueur, and egg white, so the interplay with the absinthe, Aperol, and lemon juice was much more pronounced. The Aperol and simple syrup did a good job balancing the the absinthe and lemon, and the fruity orange flavors from the bitters and Aperol were rather pleasant on the swallow and accompanied absinthe's anise notes.