union cocktail

2 oz Michael Collins Irish Whiskey
1 oz Blandy's Rainwater Madeira
1/2 oz Meletti Amaro
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.

Tuesday last week, we were in Union Square, Somerville, for dinner and we decided to stop into the Independent for a drink. There, the menu item that grabbed my attention was a recipe created by Brother Cleve for the Somerville Arts Council's new book, Nibble. Brother Cleve described the concept behind the drink in a comment, "The Nibble book features recipes of the various ethnic groups of Somerville. I created the Union cocktail to honor Somerville's early immigrants: the Irish, Portuguese, and Italians. That was the idea behind mixing whiskey, Madeira, and amaro. As for the bitters... hey, I like bitters, ok!"
The Union Cocktail greeted me with an orange oil aroma. The sweet grape and malt sip gained caramel notes from the Meletti over time. Next, the swallow began with the Irish Whiskey and finished with the Madeira, the richness and herbal complexity of the amaro, and orange notes; over successive swallows, the Angostura spice notes crept into the picture as well.