special order 191

1 1/2 oz Bulleit Bourbon (Old Grand-Dad Bonded)
3/4 oz St. Germain (St. Elder)
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc (Cocchi Americano)
1/4 oz Averna
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a Collins glass with ice, top with soda water (2 oz), and garnish with an orange slice (orange twist).

Two Fridays ago, I ventured back in Tales of the Cocktail history to their 2009 Stir Your Soul book where I spotted the Special Order 191 by Toby Maloney of the Violet Hour. Toby served this drink at one of the Tales events that year, and he named this Collins-like number after a September 1862 dispatch from Robert E. Lee's during the Civil War that was lost in transit. It was discovered by Union soldiers shortly after that, and it became a crucial part of Major General McClellan's plans to thwart the Confederates in the Maryland Campaign.
Since I could not decipher the relation of the drink name's history to the build, I moved on to assembling this libation to see if the taste alone would satisfy my curiosity. The Special Order 191 in a glass began with an orange and elderflower bouquet that offered hints of Bourbon to the nose. Next, a carbonated lemon and fruity sip led into whiskey, elderflower, and grapefruit-orange flavors on the swallow.