one for jimmy

1 3/4 oz Amontillado Sherry
1/4 oz Laphroaig Scotch
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a Highball filled with fresh ice cubes. Top with ginger beer, garnish with a lime twist, and add a straw.

Two Tuesdays ago was a charity event held at the Hawthorne to benefit a local autism center; the night was part of a series organized by Seattle's Ted Munat and based on the J.D. Salinger Nine Stories collection. For the theme, nine bartenders from seven bars across town donated their time and efforts by contributing a recipe based on one of the stories and serving it that night. I had already had a sneak preview of Ted Gallagher's Everybody is a Nun based off the "De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period," and I was able to capture a few of the other recipes offered that night.

Another impressive drink was from Tyler Wang of No. 9 Park who created the One for Jimmy after the "Uncle Wiggly Goes to Connecticut" story. Tyler had described his recipe to local organizer Misty Kalkofen as, "The name refers both to the invisible character in the story and Jimmy Lee, the first child I cared for when I worked as an after school aide for an elementary school. In the story Jimmy meets an ill-fated though imaginary death. I believe the death of this invisible and imaginary character parallels the failure of the two main women's dreams to come true. I imagine Jimmy represents the possibilities we can all fulfill if only we realize them. The women drank Scotch highballs throughout the story so I based my cocktail off of a Mamie Taylor. I wanted my drink to be one that COULD realistically be imbibed all day long, so I based it with sherry and only hint at the Scotch with the powerful smokiness of Laphroaig."
The One for Jimmy offered up a fresh lime oil aroma that later gained ginger notes and preceded the carbonated lime and grape sip. Next, the swallow started with the sherry's nuttiness blending into the Scotch's smokiness on the first sip, and on later sips the ginger began to take dominance here. Moreover, the Maraschino liqueur notes were lurking in the ginger-spiced finish to complement the fruity and nutty elements in the drink.