la viña

1 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye
1 oz Lustau East India Solera Sherry
1 oz Amaro Nonino
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass.

For my second drink at Hawthorne, I decided to leave the small menu and delve into what else the bartenders had to offer. When I described a desire for a dark spirits drink, Scott Marshall conferred with fellow bartender Katie Emmerson, and Katie suggested a drink created by Alex Day called La Viña. From her time at Death & Co., Katie appears to have brought over a rich history and mental recipe book from the Manhattan cocktail scene. The drink she recommended was Alex's twist on the Chaplin as described in Robert Hess' The Essential Bartender's Guide:

Chaplin
• 3/4 oz Bourbon
• 3/4 oz Sherry
• 3/4 oz Ramazzotti Amaro
• 1/8 oz Cointreau
• 2 dash Orange Bitters
Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

I will have more to say later about the Chaplin for I made it shortly after. Alex described the La Viña in an article about seductive sherries as, "La Viña is boozy, but light to the Manhattan drinker. It's a rich combination of nut and raisin notes from the sherry, a slight orange-flavored bitterness from the amaro, and a peppery spiciness from the rye. It's a perfect drink for fall." Katie mentioned that Alex originally created the drink with Russell's Rye, but lacking that at Hawthorne, Scott opted for Rittenhouse.
La Viña offered up a rye aroma with a darker herbal note from the Amaro Nonino lurking behind it. The sherry's grape and the amaro's caramel provided a rich sip, and the whiskey notes and amaro's herbal aspect rounded out the swallow.