the hardest walk

2 oz Punt e Mes
1 oz Plantation Overproof Rum (Plantation OFTD)
1/2 tsp Gran Classico (1 bsp Campari)
14 drop Regan's Orange Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass, and garnish with an orange twist.

After walking home in the monsoon two Fridays ago, I took off some of my wet clothing and definitely needed a drink quickly. Since New Orleans Cocktails was still on the counter from the night before, I began flipping through and spotted the aptly named "The Hardest Walk." The recipe was crafted by Turk Dietrich of The Cure whom I have had the pleasure of sitting in front of a few times in my visits to the Crescent City. Although not the time that Andrea did the Hardest Walk in 2009 to get to The Cure from the French Quarter in a straight line through what was the dangerous Magnolia Projects before Katrina. We were scolded by our bartender Rhiannon Enlil that night never to do that again (and instead take the street car) and that we needed a drink -- now!
The Hardest Walk gave forth orange oil aromas over grape plus dark notes from the rum. Next, a mellow grape sip was the change-up pitch to the intense rum and rounded bitter swallow with a bitter orange finish. Overall, Turk's inverse Rum Manhattan was a win, although it was less inverted in the glass given the rather strong overproof rum.