prospector

2 oz Blended Scotch Whisky (1 3/4 oz Buchanan's 12 Year + 1/4 oz Caol Ila 12 Year)
3/4 oz Verdelho Madeira (Blandy's 5 Year)
3/4 oz Benedictine
1 dash Fee's Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a flamed orange twist (omit flamed part).

Two Thursdays ago, I reached for my new Difford's Guide to Cocktails #12 and decided on the Prospector. This was not the Kask or Pourhouse Prospector Cocktails, but one created by Thomas Waugh in 2010 when he was in San Francisco. Since Scotch and Madeira have paired well together in the Robin Wood and 91st Division, I was game to give this a go.
The Prospector shared orange and peaty smoke notes to the nose. Next, grape and malt on the sip were followed up by smoky whisky and herbal notes on the swallow with a cinnamon finish. As Benedictine has paired well in the past with both Madeira and Scotch, it was not too surprising that it was just as much of a success here.