fool's gold

1 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon (Old Grand-Dad Bonded)
1 oz St. George Dry Rye Gin
3/4 oz Bittermens Amere Nouvelle (Torani Amer)
1/4 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lime twist.

For a drink two Fridays ago, I returned to Brian Bartels' The United States of Cocktails. There, I spotted Jen Ackrill's Fool's Gold that fell somewhere between a Liberal and a Banana Boulevardier. Jen created this drink at the Top of Waikiki restaurant in Honolulu, and it appeared in Gaz Regan's 101 Best New Cocktails 2015 alongside my Colleen Bawn Knickebein (strangely, I submitted that recipe for a section on Pousse cafe-style drinks (it never garnered enough submissions to make a full section), and Gaz liked it more than the drink that I had submitted for the regular 101 cocktails section).The Fool's Gold met the nose with Bourbon and banana aromas at first with orange notes coming through later. Next, the caramel from the Picon filled the sip; then, the swallow showcased Bourbon, juniper, and a bitter tropical note that came across almost like pineapple, and this was followed by a banana finish.