creole variation

2 oz Old Overholt Rye
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/2 oz House Picon Replica
1 dash House Aromatic Bitters
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist an orange peel over the top.

Two Sundays ago, we ventured over to Deep Ellum for dinner. There, we sat in front of bartender Ethan who mentioned earlier in the week that he worked Sunday nights. For a starter, Ethan wanted to show me his variation of the Creole. After his co-workers got back from Tales of the Cocktail, he got inspired by this New Orleans classic and decided to give it the Deep Ellum treatment by dialing up the flavors. He did this by dropping the sweet vermouth from the recipe and upping the liqueurs from mere dashes to significant players in the balance.
This Creole variation greeted the senses with an orange oil aroma with dark notes from the Picon and Benedictine. A caramel and malt sip then led into a rye, dark orange, herbal, and spice swallow. This twist took the Creole from a Manhattan variation to a bittered, brown, and stirred drink. To return it a bit to a Manhattan, Ethan added back some of the vermouth and the grape notes worked to soften the swallow.

Creole Variation #2
• 2 oz Old Overholt
• 3/4 oz House Picon Replica
• 1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
• 1/4 oz Benedictine
• 1 dash House Aromatic Bitters
• 1 dash Peychaud's Bitters
Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist an orange peel over the top.