deck hand

1 oz Bols Genever
1 oz Cardamaro
3/4 oz Kronan Swedish Punsch
3/4 oz Campari

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass containing a large ice cube. Twist a lemon peel over the top (this was omitted on my drink but included in others).

Tuesday evening after meeting with Natalie Bovis and Dave Stolte about our talk the next day at Portland Cocktail Week, I rendezvoused with Andrea and we headed over to Central. I had met Central's owner Dustin Knox while out at the Woodsman Tavern, so we put the bar on the list we were assembling throughout the week. When we showed up, it turned out to be a Campari and Del Maguey-sponsored event for cocktail week with two bartenders from New York City. I had no complaints about the products or the drinks; however, I felt denied of experiencing Central's menu. Therefore, I asked Dustin for a recipe or two that we could make at home (one of those drinks will appear on the blog next week) to get a better idea of what their drink program is about.
While Andrea was trying out the drinks of Marshall Altier of Manhattan's JBird, I focused on the libations Jade Brown Godfrey from Brooklyn's Bellweather. The first drink I tried was Jade's Deck Hand. The Genever aroma led into a malty sip with hints of bitter notes peaking through. The swallow was a combination of the Cardamaro's grape and the Campari's bitterness finishing with the Genever's wormwood and other herbal notes.