[the leonetto]

2 oz Old Weller 7 Year Bourbon
3/4 oz Maurin Quina
1/2 oz Cardamaro
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Twist an orange peel over the top and garnish with a Luxardo Maraschino cherry.

For my second cocktail at Hawthorne, bartender Ryan Lotz mixed me something reminiscent of Audrey Saunders' Little Italy. With Maurin Quina and Cardamaro for sweet vermouth and Cynar, this whiskey drink took the idea in a more fruity and less herbal direction. For a name, I dubbed it the Leonetto after Leonetto Cappiello, the Italian-born artist who drew the iconic Maurin Quina label and other famous alcohol-themed art work in Paris during the first few decades of the 20th century.
The cocktail began with an orange oil aroma that accented a grape-like undertone. The whiskey's malt combined with cherry and grape flavors on the sip. Next, the swallow started with Bourbon followed by bitter notes; at the end was a curious orange flavor that Ryan attributed to the Cardamaro more than residual oils from the twist.