soul patch

1 1/2 oz Weller 12 Year Bourbon
1/2 oz St. George Agricole Rum
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz Cherry Shrub (*)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist an orange peel over the top.
(*) Equal parts syrup from a Luxardo cherry jar and vinegar.

Two Wednesdays ago, we ventured up to Woburn for dinner to pay a visit to bartender Ran Duan at Sichuan Garden II. For a first cocktail, Ran recommended the Soul Patch that he created for an Ugly Sweater Party they held a few weeks before on Christmas Day. The Soul Patch had the quirky combination of a whiskey with an agricole-style rum that I had not seen since the Start of a New Road and before that the Two Worlds Sour. With the balance seeming like it would be on the drier side, I gave Ran the thumbs up.
The Soul Patch proffered an orange oil nose that later shifted to a cherry-Bourbon one. A grassy sip shared dry wine and malt notes, and the funky rum continued on into the swallow where it stood out more than the Bourbon. In addition, a dry cherry came through on the swallow along with a spice-laden finish.