last date

1 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac
1 oz Averna
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into an Old Fashioned glass.

Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I paid a visit to the Citizen Public House by Fenway. For a start, I asked bartender Nick Korn for the Last Date off of their new cocktail menu. I later asked Chad Arnholt about the drink he had a hand in creating. When Chad was doing a guest shift at the Patterson House in Nashville, someone asked for a Scotch drink to celebrate a first date. Through a few changes, the drink eventually morphed into the Cognac-based Last Date.
The Last Date's lemon and Cognac notes greeted the nose. On the sip, Averna's rich caramel notes paired well against the lemon juice, and the swallow began with the Cognac followed by Averna's herbal flavors. Finally, the drink ended with the orgeat's almond that contrasted a tart lemon note. As the drink warmed up, the orgeat began to overtake the Averna on the swallow. When I discussed the drink with Nick, he commented that he was surprised at how much the rather flavorful Averna lurks in the drink.