the improved

1 1/4 oz Cockspur 12 Rum (Appleton Signature)
1/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
3/4 oz Zucca (Sfumato)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
10 drop Bittermens Tiki Bitters (Bittercube Trinity)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist.While looking through Kindred Cocktails two Thursdays ago, I wondered what Sother Teague gems were hiding there after having written up my recent Amor y Amargo adventures earlier in the day. There, I was drawn in by Sother's The Improved that he created at Amor y Amargo in 2014 and was published in the 2015 Cuban Cocktails book, and it reminded me a little of his Improved Kingston Negroni. Indeed, the book describes how, "this deliciously astringent cocktail... is a version of the Kingston Negroni by Joaquin Simo, owner of Pouring Ribbons." The Improved began with orange and dark herbal aromas that preceded a grape, caramel, and roast sip. Next, funky rum, smoky bitter, and plum flavors rounded out the swallow.