[black ravens]

1 1/2 oz Plantation Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
3/4 oz Sazerac Rye Whiskey
1/2 oz Amaro CioCiaro
1/2 oz Cocchi Vermouth Amaro
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 pinch Salt

Stir with ice, strain into a Single Old Fashioned glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.

Like the past two Tales of the Cocktail, I ended my week with an evening at Bar Tonique. There, bar manager Mark Schettler was at the stick; I had met Mark last year at the bar and discovered that the two of us would be attending the same Camp Runamok session last September. When I asked Mark this time for a menu, he apologized that all of them had been stolen and most people used the drinks on the chalk board for reference. Since most of those were classics, I offered him the opportunity to do dealer's choice and make me one of his drinks.
Mark's direction was spirits forward, and its lemon twist greeted the senses with a bright aroma. Next, the sip was rather caramel driven from the amaro and rum, and the swallow was an intriguing combination of rye, bitter orange, and pineapple. Indeed, the balance reminded me of a Brooklyn especially with the rye and Picon-like CioCiaro. In addition, it was a touch on the rich side to the point that the drink was just as good warm as it was cold. For a name, I played on Bar Tonique being on Rampart Street, found the first reference to King Arthur with "He glutted black ravens on the rampart of the stronghold, though he was no Arthur," and dubbed this one Black Ravens.