the door 74

1 1/2 oz Laird's Applejack
3/8 oz Grenadine
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Martini & Rossi Dry Vermouth
1 dash Orange Flower Water
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Twist an orange peel over the top and drop in.

On Monday night, we headed down to Allston to get dinner at Grasshopper, and afterward, we went down the block to Deep Ellum for a few drinks. At the bar that night was Ted Gallagher who now works at Deep Ellum on his nights off from Craigie on Main. The drink I selected was the Door 74 which was described to me as a cross between a Scofflaw and a Jack Rose. I did not learn the history of the drink's name until I later got a chance to speak with Max Toste, one of the co-owners of Deep Ellum. The drink was named after a speakeasy in Amsterdam that Max had a chance to visit a few months ago. Max was in Holland representing Deep Ellum as the bar was nominated along with Drink for an award; moreover, he was there giving a talk about his bar's beer and cocktail program. It turned out that the awards ceremony in May was the same week that the volcano in Iceland locked down all air traffic in that part of Europe, so Max was stuck in Amsterdam. Luckily, he met the bartenders at Door 74 who were able to play host to the stuck traveler. A similar drink appeared on the Door 74 menu under a different name, and Max renamed it as a homage to their hospitality.
The Door 74 started with a nose filled with orange aromas from the twist and flower water. The sip was semi-sweet and fruit filled from the apple, lemon, and pomegranate-containing ingredients; this sweetness was dried out on the swallow that contained the vermouth and orange flower water flavors. Indeed, it was rather interesting that the orange flower water came across more as a taste than as an aroma.