black & bluegrass

1 1/2 oz Sazerac Rye
3/4 oz Averna
1/2 oz Aperol
1/4 oz Bols Orange Curaçao (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
7 drop Angostura Bitters
7 drop Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with ice, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.
Two Tuesdays ago, I decided to make a drink that I had spotted on BarNotes posted by the app's creator, Peter Bodenheimer. The recipe was Maks Pazuniak's Black & Bluegrass crafted at Peter's brother's bar, The Cure in New Orleans. With rye, Averna, and Aperol in the mix, it pleasantly reminded me of something Aaron Butler improvised for me at Drink akin to a Black Manhattan with additional flavors from Aperol. Once prepared, the Black & Bluegrass offered the nose grapefruit, orange, and dark caramel aromas. Next, the caramel from the Averna continued on into the sip, and it was followed by rye and bitter-herbal orange flavors on the swallow with a clove finish. I later realized that I had this drink on my first trip to The Cure in July 2009 but I never recorded the recipe.