via vero

2 oz Añejo Rum (Havana Club 7 Year)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Pear Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
2 dash Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist (omit).
Two Saturdays ago, I turned to my collection of Food & Wine: Cocktails books and selected the 2011 edition. There, I spotted the Via Vero, "the Truthful Way," that I had previously passed over, and this Rum Manhattan riff was crafted by New York City bartenders Richard Boccato and Zachary Gelnew-Rubin. The inclusion of pear liqueur in this format reminded me of Martin Cate's The Chadburn, so I was curious to see how this one would turn out. Once prepared, the Via Vero proffered a pear and molasses nose. Next, grape and pear on the sip gave way to aged rum notes merging into a bitter spiced caramel-fruit flavor on the swallow.