cock 'n bull special

3/4 oz Bourbon (Four Roses)
3/4 oz Benedictine
1/2 oz Cognac (Pierre Ferrand 1840)
1/4 oz Curaçao (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Build in an Old Fashioned glass with a big ice cube. Stir to chill and garnish with an orange twist.

A few Saturdays ago, I was perusing the new and improved Anvil's 100 Drink List and spotted the Cock 'n Bull Special. The Cock 'n Bull was a British-style pub that opened in Los Angeles in 1937, and during its fifty year life, it was best known as the birthplace of the Moscow Mule. I was able to locate the recipe for the Cock 'n Bull Special in Ted Saucier's Bottoms Up; this meant that their namesake cocktail was crafted sometime between 1937 and the book being published in 1951. Saucier's recipe did not include Angostura Bitters; however, it was included in the Anvil's list of ingredients, so I added a dash.
Along with the orange twist's aroma was one that alternated between being more Bénédictine and more Bourbon. Next, a malt and orange sip was followed by a Cognac swallow and herbal finish. Overall, the Cock 'n Bull Special had a New Orleans feel to it for it reminded me of a cross between a Vieux Carré and a Cocktail à la Louisiane sans vermouth and absinthe.