[wight army cocktail]

1 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye
1 oz Amontillado Sherry
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur
1/2 oz Orgeat
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Allspice Dram

Shake with ice and strain into a tall glass. Fill with crushed ice and garnish with 1 dash Angostura Bitters and a mint leaf.

Monday last week, I stopped in to visit bartender Sahil Mehta at Estragon. A drink that caught my eye was one of his unnamed drinks of the day that reminded me of the 1941 apricot liqueur-laden Zombie. Sahil replied that he had utilized the Sherry Mai Tai as a starting point instead of any classic Zombie recipe though. For a name, I thought of the Game of Thrones-themed Zombie riff, the White Walker Cocktail that I had tried about a week before and considered the White Walker's victim army, the Wights. According to the show's Wikipedia page, a wight is "a reanimated corpse, either human or animal, raised from death by the White Walkers to act as their minions. They are also called just 'The Dead' or 'The Army of the Dead'." In addition, the name Wight also reminded me of my friend's family ties to the old Maryland rye distillery; while the Wight Rye name was sold off, the recipe still lies in the hands of the descendants via New England Distilling.
The drink began with a mint, clove, and allspice aroma. The sip proffered grape and lemon notes, and the swallow displayed rye, nutty, apricot, and allspice flavors.