the butterfly sting

1 1/2 oz Four Roses Bourbon
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Kronan Swedish Punsch
1/2 oz Sirop de Canne (*)
2 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.
(*) Substitute a 2:1 simple syrup. Note: this drink was a bit sweet for me once it warmed up, so perhaps a 1/2 oz demerara 1:1 syrup would work better here. Or halving the sirop de canne to 1/4 oz.

Two Wednesdays ago, I made my way down to Stoddard's where I found a seat in front of bar manager Jamie Walsh and bartender Tony Iamunno. For a first drink, I asked Tony for the Butterfly Sting that he described as his Muhammed Ali tribute cocktail. The structure itself reminded me of the Palaver with Swedish Punsch taking the place of the Palaver's Fernet Branca.
The Butterfly Sting floated in with an orange oil notes that brightened the Bourbon aroma. Next, a rich grape and orange sip flipped into a whiskey, bitter, and tea tannin swallow that at first finished somewhat dry. As the cocktail warmed up, the balanced became a bit too much on the sweet side for my palate, so perhaps dropping the sirop de canne or switching to a less concentrated sugar source would help here.