benjamin barker daiquiri

2 oz Aged Rum (1 oz Appleton VV, 1 oz Coruba Dark)
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Demerara Simple Syrup (Jaggery)
1/8 oz Absinthe Verte (La Muse Verte)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a floated lime wheel.

Two Saturdays ago, Andrea was in the mood for an absinthe drink so I opened up Kate Simon's Absinthe Cocktails book looking for inspiration. The recipe that called out to me was from Brain Miller of Death & Co.; his Benjamin Barker Daiquiri was named after one of the aliases Sweeney Todd, the razor-wielding killer of The String of Pearls and The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. What drew me to the recipe was not the absinthe but the addition of Campari to the Daiquiri -- an addition that worked rather well in a Mai Tai variation I was served at Eastern Standard. The Campari also donated the sanguine hue that sparked Brian Miller's imagination in the naming process.
The Benjamin Barker Daiquiri greeted my nose with absinthe, lime, and resinous wood notes from the aged rums. The sip presented lime and rich caramel notes from the rum, and the swallow showcased the funkier aspects of the rums and the bitter notes of the Campari. A lingering absinthe note remained on the aftertaste that strangely seemed more menthol than anise. Overall, the richness of the rums and the raw sugar kept the Campari in check rather well.