up to date

1/2 Sherry Wine (1 1/4 oz Lustau Dry Oloroso)
1/2 Rye Whiskey (1 1/4 oz Rittenhouse 100)
2 dash Grand Marnier (1/2 oz)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

After the Tiger Lily two Friday's ago, I opened up my reprint of Hugo Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks and found the Up to Date. I remembered spotting the drink in the PDT Cocktail Book before, and they opted for a manzanilla sherry, different proportions than I used, and added a lemon twist. Perhaps the lemon twist would be a great addition, but I think that my choosing a darker sherry worked better with the rye for my tastes. In retrospect, perhaps Lustau's East India Solera sherry would have been a good selection too albeit in a less funky, nutty, and old school feeling way.
The sherry in the Up to Date dominated the nose, and this worked with the Grand Marnier to almost come off with a hint of Maraschino from the oloroso's nuttiness and the Grand Marnier's fruit. A dry grape and malt sip was followed by the rye whiskey and the nutty sherry on the swallow. Finally, the drink ended with a spiced orange finish.