banana toronto

2 1/2 oz Angel's Envy Bourbon
1/2 oz Giffard Crème de Banane
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
2 dash Coffee-infused Angostura Bitters (*)
1 pinch Salt

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a cherry.
(*) The coffee note was not very detectable in the mix, so regular Angostura Bitters will probably work in a pinch.

Two Thursdays ago, I began my account visits for work by stopping in at Offsuit. For a first cocktail, I requested a bitter and stirred Bourbon drink as a bartender's whim. Bartender Ryan crafted this riff on a Toronto with inspiration from a Daiquiri-like number that he had at Blythe & Burrows in Portland, Maine. I was able to locate the drink called "Old Dog, New Tricks" on their Instagram that listed the ingredients as Fernet, banana liqueur, brown sugar, and lime juice with a mint crown garnish. The background that they provided was, "This cocktail came about from late night experiments after work. After finding a nice harmony between Fernet and banana, we decided to play on the classic recipe of an Industry Sour. With light bright citrus and bitter notes, it balances out the dark rich sweetness of the banana and brown sugar. Suspiciously tropical and easy to crush." Ryan extracted the Fernet-banana combination and placed it into an Old Fashioned/Torono format here.The Banana Toronto greeted the senses with a banana bouquet. Next, caramel and fruity notes on the sip ventured into Bourbon, banana, and minty flavors on the swallow.