midtown

2 oz Old Fitzgerald Bonded Bourbon
1 oz Lustau East India Solera Sherry
2 barspoon Maple Syrup (1:1)
4 dash Fee's Black Walnut Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass.

Two Sundays ago, we drove up to the North Shore to have dinner at the Barrel House in Beverly, MA. For a first cocktail, Andrea asked bartender John Wierszchalek for the Midtown. I had first heard of this libation created by bar manager Sean Maher when it won the ShakeStir sherry recipe competition back in November. Sean described his entry as, "Created for a guest, this Manhattan variant utilizes the nutty profile of both the sherry, whiskey and bitters, with the tiny bit of maple rounding it off and giving it body. The cocktail has a full rich flavor evoking New England in the fall without being cloying or sweet."
The Midtown proffered a raisiny sherry aroma at first that later became more maple driven. Next, the sherry's grape filled the sip, and the swallow presented the whiskey that was complemented by the interplay of the maple syrup's richness, the sherry's raisin notes, and the bitters' walnut.