the old man, the monk, and the sea

1 1/2 oz Old Fitzgerald Bourbon
3/4 oz Benedictine
3/4 oz Lustau Dry Oloroso Sherry
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist an orange peel over the top and discard.

For my second cocktail at Drink, bartender Joe Staropoli mentioned a drink he had at the Drawing Room in Chicago. There, bartender Cristiana DeLucca made him the Old Man, the Monk, and the Sea, and she named the drink after the ingredients: Old Weller 107 Bourbon, Benedictine, and sherry, respectively. While Drink did not have Old Weller on hand, the substitution of 100 proof Old Fitzgerald was within the right ball park.
The drink started with a nose filled with orange oil and whiskey aromas. A malty and alcohol-hot whiskey sip was quenched by Benedictine and sherry on the swallow. While the sherry component was a little light for my tastes, it did become more forward as the drink warmed up. While drinking the Old Man, the Monk, and the Sea, I asked Joe if Ernest Hemingway himself would enjoy this cocktail since the name riffs on one of his books. Joe replied he was not sure if Hemingway would approve of the drink's sugar content but he could see Ernest drinking one of these on a cold African night. Somehow my notes have the phrase "a religious Hemingway experience" which you can parse any way you please.