latin quarter

2 oz Zacapa 23 Rum
1 tsp Cane Sugar Syrup (JM Sirop de Canne)
3 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass pre-rinsed with absinthe (Butterfly), and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.

Two Tuesdays ago, I was flipping through the Death & Co. Cocktail Book when I came upon the Latin Quarter in the Sazerac variation section. This house original was crafted by Joaquin Simo in 2003, and I once was served this at Eastern Standard circa 2008 but it came across as too sweet when the bartender swapped rum into their house Sazerac recipe of 2 oz spirit to 1 oz simple syrup. While I later had Sazeracs in New Orleans that utilized that proportion (perhaps balanced that way to make it more refreshing in the Southern climate), it came across as way too sweet and undrinkable with a rum like Zacapa as opposed to the dry 90 proof rye they ordinarily make the classic with. Therefore, I was game to try it again with several fold less sugar in the equation (and akin to the D-Day Rum Sazerac).
The Latin Quarter greeted the nose with a lemon, floral, caramel, and anise aroma. Next, the rum's sweet caramel filled the sip, and the swallow showcased more of the caramel rum flavors along with chocolate, clove, allspice, and anise accents.