king cole

2/3 Rye Whiskey (2 oz Old Overholt)
1/8 Dubonnet (1/2 oz Bonal)
1/8 Sweet Vermouth (1/2 oz Maurin)
1 dash Picon (1/4 oz Torani Amer)
1 dash Absinthe (1 bsp Kübler)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
After my bar shift on Friday two weeks back, I was in the mood for a nightcap so I reached for Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933. There in the American whiskey section, I spotted the King Cole that appeared like a Liberal with the vermouth split with a quinquina along with the addition of absinthe. The better known King Cole appeared in Hugo Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks (and later the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book) which is akin to a Toronto. Once prepared, this King Cole gave forth absinthe's anise notes over hints of grape on the nose. Next, grape with a touch of orange on the sip transitioned into a rye, bitter orange, and quinine swallow with a lingering anise finish.