shadow dreaming

2 oz Bourbon (Four Roses)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/4 oz Zucca (Sfumato)
1/4 oz Hamilton's Demerara 151° Rum (Diamond Reserve 151°)
1 dash Angostura Bitters
(1 bsp Demerara Syrup added for balance)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with 5 drops Bittermens Mole Bitters.Two Saturdays prior, I was scanning the Kindred Cocktails database when I was drawn in by Kyle Davidson's Shadow Dreaming that he crafted at Blackbird in Chicago circa 2016. This Bourbon Manhattan was gussied up with hints of smoky amaro, overproof Demerara rum, and chocolate bitters, so it seemed like an easy win for the evening. Here, the Shadow Dreaming greeted the nose with chocolate, Bourbon, and cherry aromas. Next, roasty chocolate and grape notes on the sip transformed into Bourbon, rum, smoky char, and clove flavors on the swallow.