sicilian sour

1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye
1/2 oz Averna
1/2 oz Galliano Ristretto Espresso Liqueur
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with. Double strain into a rocks glass and garnish with 3 coffee beans.

On Saturday, I met up with Andrea after she made an emergency Boston Shaker store delivery for a bar in Boston. We then decided to go to Drink after hearing that bartender Sam Treadway would be leaving Drink shortly, and we wanted to sneak in one last evening with him. Luckily, we were able to score a pair of seats at Sam's section and he filled us in on the news. Miami's John Lermayer, who helped set up the Woodward's bar here in Boston, was likewise hired by a hotel in Hawaii to develop their drink program. John insisted that he could bring along a manager to be on site to keep the program going after he returned to Florida. Thus, Sam got made an offer he could not refuse despite it requiring him to depart only two weeks later. In the meanwhile, Sam has been working on drinks for the menu including a muddled red bell pepper-cachaça tall drink that he made for Andrea.
One of the drinks Sam made for me was based off of the Sicilian Sour that he had in Paris, and I kept the name for his creation. While the Sicilian aspect referred to the Averna amaro, the other liqueur in the drink originated from a different part of Italy. This liqueur was a product from Galliano but not the classic vanilla-flavored yellow one; it was their new espresso-flavored liqueur in the same iconic tall and slender-shaped bottle. I would place Galliano's Ristretto closer in taste to Heering or Luxardo's offerings rather than Kahlua.

The Sicilian Sour started with a rye and coffee aroma. The whiskey's malt and the lemon juice filled the sip, and the swallow was dominated by coffee and Averna bitter notes. The egg white did an excellent job in smoothing out these rough and bitter elements into a rather polished and easy drinking cocktail. The Sicilian Sour reminded me a bit of the Orinoco that I had at No. 9 Park which also paired rye with espresso flavors.