old alhambra

1 1/2 oz Laphroaig 10 Year Scotch
3/4 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
1/2 oz Lustau East India Solera Sherry
1/4 oz Crème de Cacao (Marie Brizard)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Two Fridays ago, we began the evening with a drink I had spotted in TastingTable from Nomad in Manhattan. The drink was named the Old Alhambra after "a once-debaucherous saloon in the Flatiron neighborhood" and has become a popular menu item at the current day bar. According to David Wondrich in Esquire, while the area had stylish hotel bars, the neighborhood "earned the sobriquet 'Satan's Circus' for the gambling halls, dance halls, and brothels surrounding the hotels."
The twist's grapefruit oils joined the Laphroaig's iodiny peat smoke aroma. Next, a malt and grape sip led into a smoky Scotch swallow that gained a chocolate finish after a few sips. Indeed, the Scotch seemed to diminish the sherry's prominence in the Old Alhambra.