son of santa

1 1/2 oz Four Roses Bourbon
1 oz Cinzano Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1/4 oz Avèze Gentian Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Add straws and optional to garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
For a private holiday party yesterday, I was asked to come up with two cocktails to serve to 150 guests. Since Jon, one of the other bartenders, was doing that shift with me, I put one of his shaken creations on the list. For the other stirred one, I thought about the new bottle addition to our bar at Loyal Nine, namely St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram. As inspiration, I thought of the vermouth-based Sinnerman that paired allspice dram with Suze Gentian Liqueur, and I decided to take it in a Manhattan direction by making it a Bourbon-forward recipe instead of the last time I tinkered with the flavor combination in a Swizzle. Indeed, the earthiness of the gentian pairs well with the dram's spice to provide great accents to the whiskey and vermouth. Finally, the name came easily for I wanted to pay tribute to one of the East Cambridge characters who we have dubbed Son of Santa from early on; now that the Christmas season is upon us, Son of Santa lives up to our name for him by wearing a red and white Santa hat. While I was trying to keep it simple given the volume we would be dealing with, I kept thinking that the drink needed a garnish of some sort and perhaps freshly grated nutmeg was the answer.