dr. clown shoes

1 1/2 oz Gin (Beefeater)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Raspberry Syrup
1/4 oz Absinthe (Kübler)

Shake with ice and strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice. Top with ~2 oz soda water, garnish with both a wide lemon and lime peel, and add a straw. Variation: use Bourbon instead of gin.

Later in the evening during Mixoloseum's TDN: Charlie Sheen, I discovered a lesser known phrase from Charlie's rants where he mentions a "Dr. Clown Shoes." The name immediately made me think of the classic Tiki drink Dr. Funk that Scott Holliday introduced me to. Instead of the Dr. Funk's rhum agricole base, I was considering Bourbon before switching last minute to gin. When I was still considering whiskey, I thought of the famous New Orleans highball drink, the Roffignac, that uses raspberry syrup and thought it would make a good substitution for Dr. Funk's grenadine. Moreover, with the absinthe in the drink, it would further the New Orleans' feel.
The flavor combination of gin, citrus, and raspberry syrup could do no wrong especially in the refreshing highball format. The addition of absinthe provided a light degree of spice that was very complementary to the gin and syrup flavors. While the botanicals of the gin worked really well here, I think that the barrel-aged notes of a good Bourbon would make for an equally pleasing drink. Unfortunately, I did not have time to give that variation a try, but perhaps I will soon -- right after uttering "Bring me Dr. Clown Shoes!" to myself, the bartender.