toto

3/4 oz Reposado Tequila (Espólon)
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Cynar

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Fridays ago, I opened up Left Coast Libations to see if there were any hidden gems that I had missed in the earlier passes. The one that caught my eye was the Toto from Portland's Kelley Swenson. I had first learned of this drink from the Munat Brothers' Le Mixeur blog back in 2008. Instead of the the Toto, I made the companion gin drink called Broken Flowers. Moreover, in 2010, I wrote about Kelley's Celeriac that is listed next to the Toto in the book.
The Toto began with a lemon oil aroma along with herbal notes from the tequila and Green Chartreuse. The sip then lent a caramel flavor from the Cynar with hints of the Green Chartreuse coming through. Finally, the swallow was an intriguing opposition of the dark bitterness of Cynar against the herbal Green Chartreuse complemented by the tequila. Indeed, it was interesting how the tequila and Cynar modified the Green Chartreuse in herbal and bitter directions, respectively.