diamonds & spades

1 1/2 oz Fernet Branca
1 1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
7 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 pinch Salt
Absinthe for rinsing glass

Dissolve salt in simple syrup, add rest save for the absinthe, stir with ice, and strain into an absinthe-rinsed rocks glass (St. George Absinthe). Twist a lemon peel over the top and discard.

In contemplating my shift drink at Our Fathers two Saturdays ago, I thought about our amari collection and considered taking the Ferrari (50:50 Fernet-Campari) shot in a New Orleans direction akin to Scott Holliday's Red Dwarf. Given that Boston's love of the Sazerac is frequently traced back to Sazerac evangelist John Gertsen at No. 9 Park followed by Drink (where he hosted Sazerac Sundays), I thought about the New Orleans bar where he learned to love them -- Tujagues. That restaurant name made me think of "Two Jacks" as in playing cards, and the one red ingredient and one black ingredient made me hone in on card suits for a name. In the end, Diamonds & Spades won out over the Clubs & Hearts.
I included a pinch of salt get to the other flavors to shine over the bitterness as was done in the Black Stallion Sets Sail and the Cornerman. Like a Sazerac, the Diamonds & Spades nose led off with lemon and anise aromas. Next, caramel and orange on the sip flowed into orange and minty flavors on the swallow with an anise finish. Indeed, the salt allowed the Campari's citrus and the Fernet's mint to take center stage over the bitter botanicals in each of the liqueurs.