coffee negroni

1 oz Demerara Rum (Denizen's Merchant Reserve)
1 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Camarpi
1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Galliano Ristretto)

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. Garnish with an orange twist.

As a nightcap two Saturdays ago, I turned to the most recent issue of Imbibe Magazine and picked out the Coffee Negroni. The recipe was created by Jimmy Marino of the Lexington House in Los Gatos, California, and it takes the Negroni in a rum direction along with extra bitter notes from Punt e Mes instead of the typical sweet vermouth. For the Demerara rum, I did not want to use the last of my Lemon Hart 80 (and did not want to use the 151 here either), and El Dorado 3 Year White Rum did not seem appropriate (nor did their 151) to match the richness. I punted and reached for Denizen's Merchant Reserve; in retrospect, I forgot that I had El Dorado 12 Year at the back of the shelf that would have worked amazingly well.
The Coffee Negroni shared orange oil notes that brightened the rich caramel, dark orange, and grape aroma. The grape continued on into the sip, and it was joined with rum flavors as well as Punt e Mes' and Campari's bitter notes on the swallow. Finally, the finish offered coffee and char accents to round out the drink.