palm viper

3/4 oz Zacapa "23" Rum
3/4 oz El Dorado 12 Year Rum
1 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Cynar
2 dash Bittercube Corazon Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass, and garnish with a lemon twist and a cherry.

Two Thursdays ago, Andrea and I ventured down to Brookline to dine at the Baldwin Bar's new sibling, the Blossom Bar, that hosts the same style of Sichuan cuisine as the Woburn location but with cocktails inspired by Central and South America. For a start, I selected the Palm Viper that reminded me of a rum Little Italy. I later discovered that the drink was crafted by Patrick Andrew as a riff on the 1919 Cocktail, and he utilized aromatic bitters from Bittercube that have chili pepper, cocoa, and coffee flavors akin to a mole to give some extra regional flare to the two Central American rums in the mix. And for a name, he dubbed this one after a poisonous snake lurking in the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama.
Once prepared, the Palm Viper gave forth bright lemon oil aromas over the bass notes from the dark rums and amaro. Next, caramel from the rums and amaro mingled with the vermouth's grape on the sip, and the swallow paired rum and funk with an elegant spice finish.