pan american clipper

1 jigger Applejack or Calvados (2 oz Copper & Kings Floodwall Apple Brandy)
1 scant pony Lime Juice (1/2 oz)
1 tsp Grenadine (1/2 oz)
1 dash Absinthe (1 bsp Copper & Kings Absinthe Blanche)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Tuesdays ago, the topic of Charles H. Baker, Jr.'s The Gentleman's Companion came up earlier in the day, and I decided to find that evening's refreshment from those pages. There, I spotted the Pan American Clipper that Baker attributed to be "from the notebook of one of our pilot friends who -- when off duty -- may seek one." The recipe seemed like the Cuban Aviacion with lime instead of lemon, a Jack Rose with absinthe, or a Shrunken Skull with apple brandy instead of rum. Since the Aviacion was published around the same time as the Pan American Clipper during the heyday of the flying boat, perhaps they stem from the same genesis with different names (especially considering that Cuban recipes were often vague as to whether limón meant lemon or lime).
The Pan American Clipper began with an apple and anise bouquet. Next, a dry lime joined a vague fruit note from the apple brandy or the pomegranate on the sip, and the swallow paired the apple with the pomegranate's berry flavor with an absinthe's anise finish.