mary sharon

1 1/2 oz Chinaco Blanco Tequila
3/4 oz Martini & Rossi Bianco Vermouth
1/2 oz Mirto
1 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

For my second cocktail at Eastern Standard two Sunday nights ago, I asked bartender Josh Taylor if he had any new tricks up his sleeve. He thought I might be interested in the Mary Sharon and I became intrigued after I heard it was a variation of the "Sex in the City" classic, the Cosmopolitan, albeit an abstract one using Mirto liqueur instead of cranberry juice. Moreover, he mentioned that Avery Glasser of the Bittermens had a hand in the genesis of this recipe most likely similar to how he helped create Craigie's Bird Bath and Green Street's Avery's Arrack-ari. For a name, the myrtle berry liqueur's Sardinian origin prompted a Mediterranean theme; the cocktail became dubbed the Mary Sharon after Kristin Scott Thomas' character in Prince's 1986 movie Under the Cherry Moon.
The Mary Sharon's aroma was full of citrus oils but I was confused as to whether it was orange or grapefruit. When I asked Josh, he informed me that it was actually lemon and explained that the bounty of orange notes in the bianco vermouth was really that strong. Indeed, the vermouth presented a good amount of citrus peel flavors and the sip was a rather blood orange-Campari taste when combined with the Mirto. The minerality of the tequila and a hint of bitter orange came through on the swallow followed by chocolate from the mole bitters at the very end.