sleeping with strangers

1 oz Neisson Rhum Agricole Blanc
1 oz Campari
1 oz Kronan Swedish Punsch
1 dash Bittermens Grapefruit Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

As a follow up to the 1910 Cocktail, bartender Jeff Grdinich suggested a drink created by Maks Pazuniak of the Counting Room in Brooklyn called Sleeping with Strangers. While the drink recipe initially sounded like a rhum agricole Negroni, the stranger here was the Swedish Punsch which would replace the Negroni's sweet vermouth. I have seen similar swappings such as Swedish Punsch for Lillet Blanc in certain Corpse Reviver #2 recipes in 1940s drink books starting with Crosby Gaige's Cocktail Guide and Ladies' Companion from 1941. Having been a fan of Maks since he served us at the Cure Bar in New Orleans as well as his work with Rogue Beta Cocktails, I was definitely willing to give this one a go. I later was able to track down the drink to the April 16th edition of Counting Room's weekly Something Like This menu; the only difference was that the original called for the Bittermens Orange Cream Citrate instead of grapefruit bitters.
The Sleeping with Strangers began with a strong showing of grapefruit oil with hints of Campari poking through. The sip was sweet with citrus notes, and the swallow proffered funky rhum agricole flavors followed by Campari's bitter notes. If I were to compare the flavors to a single drink, it would have to be Scott Holliday's Defensio that he based off of the Lucien Gaudin.