lingua franca

1 1/2 oz Pisco (Macchu Pisco)
1/2 oz J.Wray & Nephew Rum
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Pear Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Shake with ice and strain into a tall glass. Add ice and top with 2 oz soda water. Garnish with a mint sprig and a lemon twist.

Two Sundays ago, Andrea was flipping through the latest issue of Imbibe magazine and reading all of the Tiki drink recipes inside. The one that we both agreed on as a starting point was the Lingua Franca by Martin Cate of Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco. Beside previously enjoying Martin's Dead Reckoning, I was drawn to the drink for two reasons. First, the split spirit of pisco and J.Wray & Nephew Rum seemed intriguing, and the second was that the recipe calls for pear liqueur and our bottle rarely gets used. In fact, I can only recall two other recipes where I have had pear liqueur, namely Scott Holliday's Bosc Word and the Naughty Nanny that Andrea created for a Mixology Monday one month. The name "lingua franca" means a working or bridge language that can be used when two people do not share a common mother tongue. With Peruvian, Jamaican, and Austrian spirits in our recipe, a lingua franca might be needed for these people to communicate, although just sipping this drink should keep them happy enough until they figure out what it would be.
The Lingua Franca was a rather white beverage that reminded me of the White Witch; moreover, its garnishes provided a pleasing lemon oil and mint aroma before the drink was even tasted. On the sip, the lemon, pear, and pisco notes presented themselves, and they were followed by apricot, the falernum's spice, and the rum's funkiness on the swallow. Surprisingly, the pisco and the J.Wray & Nephew worked well together, and the rum gave the drink a bit of an edge. Overall, the Lingua Franca was a complex fruit medley that was rather complementary to the pisco.