king caesar

3/4 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Demerara Syrup
1 dash Bittermens Tiki Bitters

Shake with ice and double strain into a Champagne flute. Top with ~2 oz Dibon Cava.

Last Friday, I dropped into Island Creek Oyster Bar for drinks. For a start, I asked bartender Vikram Hegde for the King Caesar. I was not sure whether the drink was named after the Roman emperor or the Japanese kaiju from the Godzilla series; however, after considering the restaurant's theme, I did a little searching. In the oyster town of Duxbury, MA, the largest industry back in the 18th century was ship building. Ezra Weston ran this enterprise and his success in building a large merchant fleet led to the nickname of "King Caesar"; he later passed the 100 ship fleet and the title to his son who kept the enterprise going into the early 19th century.

The King Caesar welcomed the senses with a pineapple and sparkling wine aroma that contained a hint of spice. The wine and lime paired to conjure a crisp sip, and the pineapple and the Amaro Montenegro's caramel and bitter notes rounded out the swallow. Indeed, I was quite impressed at how Amaro Montenegro worked to maintain the tropical tone of the drink.