[finishing school]

1 1/2 oz Angel's Envy Bourbon
1/2 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Averna
1/2 oz Campari

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with orange oil from a twist.

Two Wednesdays ago while doing brand work, I ventured down to Backbar and asked for a bartender's whim using Angel's Envy Bourbon. Bartender Carlo Caroscio was acting as a server that night and passed on my request to bartender Kelsey Chase. Carlo handed her a slip of paper with a riff on his Smoking Section that he offered on a Compass Box Scotch menu at the Hawthorne in 2019. Besides switching the spirit from Scotch to Bourbon, he swapped in sweet vermouth for Punt e Mes. For a name, I dubbed this one the Finishing School as a nod to how all of Angel's Envy's products are finished in some sort of secondary cask.The drink began with an orange oil over caramel aroma. Next, caramel and grape notes swirled on the sip, and Bourbon, herbal, and bitter orange flavors rounded out the swallow.