rye-o de janeiro

1 oz Avua Amburana Cachaça
1 oz Rittenhouse Bonded Rye
3/4 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/4 oz Amaro Braulio

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.

Two Wednesdays ago, I stopped into Backbar on my way home from dinner at Lonestar Taco Bar in Cambridge. For a drink, I requested the Rye-O de Janeiro from bartender Joseph Habib; despite my usual avoidance of puns as drink names, the combination seemed like a delightful Green Point riff. I later learned that it was Matt Conner's creation from mid-September that he crafted two weeks or so before departing Backbar. The original was equal parts (with the fourth equal part being a split of the two herbal liqueurs), and when the cocktail hit the menu, the two base spirits were bumped up a quarter ounce each perhaps for a bit more dryness on the balance.
The Rye-O de Janeiro presented a bright lemon oil and funky cachaça nose that preceded a grape and honey-tinged sip. Next, rye and funky cachaça were complemented on the swallow by gently bitter herbal notes along with menthol from the Braulio on the finish.