transatlantic scaffa

1 1/2 oz Rhum Clément VSOP Rum
1/2 oz Laird's Apple Brandy
1 oz Cappelletti Aperitivo
3 dash Buddha's Palm Tincture

Build in a rocks glass and stir without ice. Serve room temperature.

Two Sundays ago, I paid a visit to Backbar where Sam Treadway and Kyle Powell were tending bar. For a first libation, I asked Kyle for the Transatlantic Scaffa, one of the two room temperature cocktails on the menu. The recipe was described as a team effort with Joe Cammarata leading the concept, and Kyle and Sam helping to polish up the details. The sweetener here was Cappelletti, a bitter aperitif that came across as a mix of sweet vermouth and Campari. The other Scaffa was the R & B, a 3 to 1 ratio of rye to Benedictine accented with a dash each of Angostura and Angostura Orange Bitters.
The Transatlantic Scaffa began with an herbal grape aroma with hints of apple. Next, a sweet grape sip led into a mineral and herbal swallow. Overall, the Scaffa reminded me of Scott Holliday's Defensio, a rhum agricole-based Lucien Gaudin.