commercial free

3/4 oz Old Monk Rum
3/4 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Velvet Falernum
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a single old fashioned glass.
Two Mondays ago on the way home from a Hennessy event, I decided to stop into Trina's Starlite Lounge for a drink. The menu item I asked bartender Tony Iamunno to make, the Commercial Free, was one of his own creations; I did inquire even though the name and the ingredient mix had his signature on it. In the glass, the Commercial Free shared a molasses-caramel aroma with funky herbal undertones on the nose. The caramel continued on into the sip where it was joined by the grapefruit notes. Lastly, the swallow gave forth dark rum and funky bitter flavors with a clove finish. Overall, the drink was a touch on the sweet side so perhaps some of the grapefruit juice could be split with some lime juice to give a crisper balance, but the combination of Old Monk Rum and Cynar was rather delightful.