blooey blues

1/4 Crème de Violette (3/4 oz Rothman & Winter)
1/4 Bacardi Rum (3/4 oz El Dorado 3 Year + 1 barspoon J.M. Amber Rhum) (*)
1/4 Lime Juice (3/4 oz)
1/4 Sherry (3/4 oz Lustau East India Solera)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
(*) To replicate old style Bacardi, the editor recommended using a Cuban or Martician rum. Pure rhum agricole comes across as too intense in my mind, so here I used a 1 part in 7 dilution to give the impression of a spirit made partially from fresh pressed sugar cane.

For our second drink on Friday, I opted for the Blooey Blues, an oddity I had found in Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933. The four equal parts recipe had often caught my attention, but my curiosity had always been dissuaded by the heavy handedness of the crème de violette. However, after reading a thread on Chowhound where people spoke favorably about a few crème de violette-laden drinks, I decided to give this one a go.
First off, this drink was not blue but more of a murky green, brown, and purple combination. Perhaps a lighter sherry like a fino or manzanilla might have skewed the drink in the proper color direction, or perhaps the drink was created with a liqueur containing a higher concentration of blue dye. With the strange appearance of the drink aside, the Blooey Blues was actually quite pleasant. Its bouquet presented a sherry aroma coupled with crème de violette's floral and rhum's grassy notes. Lime and grape on the sip led into a combination of lime, violet, sherry's nuttiness, and a hint of grassiness on the swallow. Overall, it was a very Spring-like drink that reminded me of the Pokey Crocus and the Daffodil cocktails.