lion tamer

2 oz Vodka (Damrak Gin) (*)
1 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz St. Germain
1/2 oz Crème de Cassis
1/2 oz Egg White (1 Egg White)

Shake once without ice and once with ice. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with 5 drops of Angostura Bitters. Swirl the drops with a toothpick to resemble a flower (mine sort of looked like birds).
(*) This drink would have probably been better with tequila, but gin was a good first start.

After the Golden Dog, I picked up The Cocktail Hour's vodka booklet to see if there were any vodka recipes that could be converted into tasty gin ones. The one that seemed to have potential that night was the Lion Tamer from Vince Lund of Beretta in San Francisco. Vince first made the drink for a Leo guest of his, and the name Lion Tamer seemed to fit.
The drink's Angostura Bitters offered a spice aroma with additional notes that alternated between the St. Germain's floral and the cassis' berry. The sip was full of lime flavors that were joined by the fruit notes in the St. Germain. Finally, on the swallow, the gin, St. Germain's floral, and black currant rounded out the drink. While gin was as decent substitution, I felt that all the elements were calling out for agave, whether tequila or mezcal, as I was drinking it down.