forgetful elephant

2 1/4 oz Booker's Bourbon
3/4 oz Luxardo Amaro Abano
1/2 oz Orgeat
1 pinch Smoked Salt

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass.

The other new drink on the No. 9 Park menu that caught my eye was the Forgetful Elephant, and bartender Tyler Wang gladly made me one. The name reminded me of the gin-based Elephants Sometimes Forget; with a healthy slug of overproof Bourbon, it was more likely that I, and not the elephant, would be doing the forgetting. When I inquired about the curious name, Tyler explained that bartender Ted Kilpatrick noted that it was strong and it tasted like peanuts, so he wanted to name it after an elephant.
The Amaro Abano's menthol note contributed greatly to the Forgetful Elephant's nose (or trunk?). The sip showcased the Bourbon's malt and the amaro's caramel notes, and the swallow offered up the whiskey's heat, the orgeat's nuttiness, and finally the amaro's menthol. While I did not detect the smoky aspect of the sea salt, the salt did function to mellow the amaro's bitter notes on the swallow.