archipelago swizzle

2 oz Bols Genever
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Vanilla Syrup (BG Reynolds)
1/4 oz Velvet Falernum

Build in a Collins glass, add crushed ice to fill, and swizzle to mix and chill. Garnish with a large bouquet of mint bound with a thin lemon twist and with 3-4 dashes Angostura Bitters. Add a straw.
Two Wednesdays ago, we began the evening with a drink that Colin Shearn created at the St. Charles Exchange in Louisville for the Bols Drink Around the World competition this year. I do not know whether I am a bigger fan of Swizzles or Colin Shearn's recipes, so when the two were in one, I was definitely game. Once mixed, the mint and lemon from the garnish joined the falernum and bitters' clove aroma. Next, a lemon and malt sip led into the Bols Genever flavors that were softened by the vanilla syrup. Towards the end of the drink, the bitters garnish entered into the taste profile and the Swizzle became rather dry and ripe with clove and allspice notes.