exhibition swizzle

1 1/2 oz Barbancourt Rum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum

Add ingredients to a tall glass, fill with crushed ice, and swizzle until cold. Garnish with a dash or two of Tiki Bitters (sub Angostura perhaps) on top, 2 mint sprigs, a cherry, and a straw.

Last Wednesday, Andrea and I traveled over to Lineage in Brookline for dinner. For one of my drinks, I asked bartender Ryan Lotz to make me the Exhibition Swizzle that just appeared on the menu. When I inquired about the name, Ryan explained how he was researching Aperol and discovered that it was first introduced in 1919 at the Padua Exhibition in Italy and the name Exhibition Swizzle stuck. The combination of Aperol and Falernum made for a flavorful pairing that was less intense than the Campari Swizzle he had been tinkering with before.
The Tiki Bitters provided complementary notes to the mint and the falernum's spice aromas. On the sip, Aperol's rhubarb-orange flavor paired well with the lime juice; on the swallow, the rum and the falernum's clove notes rounded out the drink with a dry finish. Looking back through my notes, the Swizzle's flavor combination reminded me a bit of Aaron Butler's Hanging Curve which was more of a traditional cocktail presentation than a Caribbean one.