the gryffindor common room

1 oz Rooibos Tea-Infused Bourbon-Mezcal (*)
1/2 oz Los Vecinos Mezcal
1/2 oz Elijah Craig Bourbon
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
1/2 oz Aveze Gentian Liqueur
1/2 oz Benedictine

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with orange oil from a twist.
(*) Working off the Earl Grey MarTEAni, 4 tablespoons of rooibos should be infused in a 750 mL bottle of Bourbon-mezcal for 2 hours before straining. 1 tsp per ~2 oz would be the scaled down version. Again, this is only an estimate.Two Thursdays ago, I headed over to Backbar after my day time bar shift to experience their Harry Potter Week menu. The drink I selected was the Gryffindor Common Room; according to the Harry Potter Wikipedia, it was named after the cozy common room at the Gryffindor House at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where students could rest after a long day of studying. In the glass, the cocktail that bartender Rachel Kopelman mixed up for me greeted the nose with orange, vegetal, and smoke aromas. Next, caramel notes on the sip launched into Bourbon, orange, bitter, and smoke flavors on the swallow with a gentian and cinnamon finish.