adorable bartender

1 1/2 oz Aged Cachaça (Seleta Gold)
1/2 oz Mezcal (Montelobos)
1/2 oz Salers Gentian Liqueur
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Earl Grey Syrup (*)
3 dash Grapefruit Bitters (2 wide grapefruit swaths)

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass with ice. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.
(*) For every 1 oz of strongly steeped hot Earl Grey tea, add 1 oz sugar. Stir to dissolve. 1 + 1 = 1.5 oz syrup.
After the Hurricane, I turned to a drink I had spotted on ShakeStir called the Adorable Bartender. The recipe was concocted by Christopher Lockwood, bar manager of Lucey's Lounge in Brooklyn. Not only did the combination of cachaça and mezcal seemed intriguing, but I was curious as to how it would all pair with tea syrup and gentian liqueur. In the glass, the cocktail offered grapefruit oil notes over the cachaça funk nose. Lime and a bit of toastiness from the tea on the sip set the stage for funky cachaça, smoky agave, tea, and earthy gentian on the swallow as well as a citrus-driven finish.