antoine's demise

1 1/2 oz Peychaud's Bitters
1 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. Garnish with a few spritzes of allspice dram.

Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I ventured up to Woburn to visit bartender Ran Duan at Sichuan Garden 2 for dinner. For a start, I was drawn towards the Antoine's Demise with the Antoine in question being the New Orleans pharmacist Antoine Amédée Peychaud who created Peychaud's Bitters. Ran described how the drink was part of a progression series from the Gunshop Fizz in Beta Cocktails. The combination of bitters, passion fruit syrup, and citrus reminded me more of Jamie Boudreau's Novara though, except there, the bitters were Campari and not Peychaud's. When Ran started making the drink, I was amused that he had a speed-pour spout on a large bottle containing the Peychaud's Bitters to fill the jigger more quickly.
The dram's allspice and clove spice notes accented the housemade passion fruit syrup aroma. The sip was rather citrussy from the combination of lime and passion fruit, and the swallow had the passion fruit merging elegantly with the Peychaud's Bitters as well as a dry finish. I was quite surprised at how mild the Antoine's Demise was for being such a bitters-heavy drink.