[kid mccoy]

1 3/4 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye
1 oz Cocchi Americano Rosa
1/4 oz Bigallet Viriana China China
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

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

Two Mondays ago, I ventured over to Drink where I found a seat at bartender Palmer Matthews' section. When I inquired as to what he was excited about these days, Palmer commented that he has been enjoying Cocchi Americano's rosé aperitif wine (Lillet also put out a similar product that seems comparable) as well as Bigallet's China China, a quinine-laden dark orange peel liqueur that is a proofier Amer Picon of sorts. He continued on to explained that he had been tinkering with the Deshler that first appears in Hugo Ensslin's Recipes for Mixed Drinks:

Deshler
• 1/2 jigger Rye Whiskey
• 1/2 jigger Dubonnet
2 dash Cointreau Triple Sec
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
Shake with ice with 2 pieces orange peel and 1 piece lemon peel. Strain into a glass and garnish with an orange twist.

Since the Deshler was named after a famous boxer from the 1910s when Ensslin published his book, I dubbed this one after another turn of the century boxer, Kid McCoy, who christened boxing in the 20th century with his KO victory on New Years Day, 1900. Once mixed, the orange oils brightened the otherwise dark nose. A caramel and malt sip led into a rye swallow with a dark orange peel and spice swallow. Overall, the drink reminded me of the classic whiskey and Amer Picon-containing Liberal cocktail.