averna cup

1 oz Old Monk Rum
1 oz Averna
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Giffard's Strawberry Liqueur (*)

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with 2-3 oz ginger ale, and garnish with mint sprigs and an orange twist. Add a staw.
(*) In a pinch sub a large strawberry muddled in 1/2 oz simple syrup. Add a fine straining step after the shake/strain.
For a second drink at Sichuan Garden II's Baldwin Room, I asked bartender Vannaluck Hongthong for the Averna Cup that he described as the house's riff on a Pimm's Cup. In the glass, the orange twist's aroma was stronger than the mint garnish's. Next, the sip was rather fruity with lemon and strawberry flavors, and the swallow was richer with dark caramel and molasses notes followed by a fruity spice finish.