skyfall

2 oz Cutty Sark Scotch
1/2 oz Dow's Fine Ruby Port
1/2 oz St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur
1/4 oz Fernet Branca

Stir with ice, strain into a single Old Fashioned glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.
Two Wednesdays ago, I ventured down to Russell House Tavern for dinner. For a first drink, I asked bartender Brett Howard for the Skyfall. Brett confirmed my guess that this was recipe was created by bar manager Ashish Mitra; I made that assumption for I know that Ashish favors Manhattans made with port when he goes out. In the glass, the Skyfall first provided a lemon and grape aroma that later shared menthol notes from the Fernet. Next, a grape and malt sip had hints of pear from the elderflower liqueur, and the swallow was a complex medley of Scotch, grape, floral, and menthol-herbal flavors. Overall in this Chancellor Cocktail-like drink, the port's grape had a stronger presence in both the sip and the swallow than vermouth, Madeira, or sherry do in comparable proportions.