margot tenenbaum

2 oz High-Rye Bourbon (Four Roses Yellow Label)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/2 oz Zucca Rabarbaro (Sfumato)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.

On Friday night two weeks ago, my hand reached for Amanda Schuster's New York Cocktails to find my post work shift libation. There, I spied Frank Cisneros' Margot Tenebaum named after the edgy character from Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums movie, and since Margot was a smoker for most of her life, it was apt that the recipe called for a smoky amaro (the Chinese rhubarb root in rabarbaros naturally comes across as smoky despite not having touched fire). Since I enjoyed my last recipe that I had tried by Frank, namely the Farmer's Armagnac, I was excited to give this one a go.
The Margot Tenenbaum adopted a smoky herbal aroma with honey-floral undertones. Next, a bright lemon sip was darkened by the Sfumato's earthy roastiness, and the swallow wrapped things up with Bourbon accented by bitter flavors balanced by sweet floral honey notes.