eighty years' war

1 1/2 oz Bols Genever
1 1/2 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
1 bsp Housemade Amer Picon (sub Ramazzotti)
1 bsp Benedictine
1 pinch Kosher Salt

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Add straws.

On Wednesday a week and a half ago, Andrea and I went over to Lineage in Coolidge Corner for dinner. One of the drinks bartender Ryan Lotz made me was the Eighty Years' War off of their cocktail menu. The drink's name makes reference to the Dutch War of Independence that started in the mid sixteenth century as a revolt of the provinces against Philip II of Spain. By the mid seventeenth century, the resistance led by William of Orange succeeded and the Spanish were ousted from power.
The drink combined elements of the Dutch and Spanish, namely the Genever and sherry, respectively, in equal parts to do battle in the rocks glass. The battle started on the nose with a bit of nutty grape aroma combined with a little maltiness from the Genever. The war theme fizzled somewhat as I noticed how well the amontillado and Genever flavors paired together! The swallow contained a rich but not overwhelming bitter complexity from the Benedictine, Picon, and Genever, and this was followed by a lingering nuttiness from the sherry. Normally, Ryan used Ramazzotti, but he was out, so he switched to his housemade Picon recipe (which is based off of that amaro anyways). As the ice melted, the last remaining flavors to survive were the wormwood note from the Bols Genever and a faint nutty grape note from the sherry.