modern cocktail

2 oz Balvenie 12 Year Scotch
1 oz Housemade Swedish Punsch
1/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Pernod
1 barspoon Grenadine

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
After attending an Appleton Rum event two Monday ago, I was in the mood for a nightcap in a more quiet locale. The drinks were rather good at the event, but once the band kicked in, it was hard to talk to people. So I wandered over from the Woodward to No. 9 Park. There, I was greeted by bartender Brendon who pointed me towards the new offerings on the menu. The one that caught my eye was the Modern Cocktail which is their variation on the Modernista or Modern Maid that Ted Haigh discussed in his Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails book. The recipe Haigh provided was:

The Modernista
• 2 oz Scotch
• 1/2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum
• 1/2 oz Swedish Punsch
• 1/2 oz Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Absinthe or Pastis
• 2 dash Orange Bitters
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

In fact, there are so many variations of this Scotch-based drink (including some non-Scotch variations), that I am not sure which one they based it off of. Indeed, I have had a Scotch and Swedish Punsch drink once before, namely Puates Delight, and I was definitely game for another one. Here, the Balvenie provided a smoky aroma to the Modern Cocktail. The sip was a combination of lemon and grenadine fruit notes and malty and smoke Scotch ones. Next, the Pernod's anise and the Swedish Punsch's spice flavors rounded out the sweeter swallow.