strange bedfellows

2 oz Glenlivet 12 Year Scotch
3/4 oz Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
1/2 oz Aperol
1 barspoon Maraschino Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a short Highball (or rocks) glass rinsed with spritzes of Caol Ila Scotch and containing coffee ice cubes. Twist an orange peel over the top.

The most dynamic drink of the charity J.D. Salinger-themed event was the Citizen's Sean Frederick's Strange Bedfellows based on the "Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes" story. Local organizer Misty Kalkofen collected a summary of the drink from Sean that read, "Smoke hangs heavy over this drink, inspired by a sordid tale of adultery, power, and guilt. The cocktail evolves with the story - which closes with a triangle of characters fixed in the same physical location as we first saw them, yet an entirely upended dynamic. What begins as vibrant and forward ends as bitter and weakened. The final sips should taste like regret: coffee and cigarettes, the official flavors of self-reckoning." The last time I had a drink with melting coffee ice cubes was Vandaag's Dutch Flip, and I was quite eager to give Sean's Strange Bedfellows a try.
The drink began with an earthy coffee and smoky Scotch aroma. The sip contained grape and light fruit notes from the Aperol, and the swallow showcased the Scotch along with coffee and Maraschino flavors. As the coffee ice cubes melted, its bitter notes helped to dry out the drink considerably.  Indeed, I was pretty impressed at how the smokey whisky in the Strange Bedfellows lost out to the coffee's dark roast over time.