thornbush

2 1/2 oz Irish Whiskey (2 oz Teeling's Small Batch)
1 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/4 oz Caol Ila Scotch
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe pre-rinsed with absinthe (Kübler), and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Thursdays ago, I spied Jeff Mason and Greg Boehm's 2009 The Big Bartender's Book, and I wondered if I could uncover an interesting recipe that I have glossed over in the past. The one that appealed to me was Jim Meehan's Thornbush that was perhaps his riff on the Blackthorn from 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book. In the glass, the Thornbush welcomed the senses with a lemon, anise, and peat aroma. Next, grape and malt on the sip transitioned to Irish whiskey along with Islay peat notes melding into the absinthe botanicals on the swallow with a clove and smoke finish.