bitter in brazil

1 1/2 oz Cabana Cachaça
3/4 oz Grand Marnier
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Demerara Syrup

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass that was rinsed with Fernet Branca. Garnish with a lemon twist.
The other drink I had at the Citizen in Worcester was the Bitter in Brazil, one of the two Fernet Branca drinks on the menu. While I was expecting a whopping amount of Fernet Branca in this cachaça drink to match the name, the glass was only seasoned with it and most of the bitter notes actually came from the Punt e Mes. Even though there was only a small amount of Fernet in the drink, its pairing with Grand Marnier reminded me of Jeff Grdinich's Root of All Evil. The drink began with lemon oil that set up for the orange in the sip from the Grand Marnier that was accompanied by the liqueur's caramel notes. The first wave of the swallow was the Fernet Branca and Punt e Mes' bitterness, and this was followed by the cachaça's grassy funk at the end. Before we left the Citizen that night, bar manager David Delaney took Andrea and I on a tour of what will be the restaurant's cocktail-centric back barroom that they are calling "Still and Stir." The room is replete with jail cell bars from when it used to be the court house's holding cell. Still and Stir apparently had its opening on Friday so we will have to return to enjoy some drinks in this cool and eccentric space.