the phrasemaker

3/4 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
3/4 oz Old Tom Gin (Ransom)
1 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/4 oz Benedictine
1/4 oz Pineapple Syrup
2 dash Chocolate Bitters (Angostura Cocoa)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Tuesdays ago, I decided to work on my #SecretSanté drink for my chosen internet bartender. The yearly Instagram event was conceived a few seasons ago by Matthias Soberon, and this year it chained 240 accounts to make drinks for another. I was assigned Zach M. @allequalparts from Augusta, Georgia, and I set out to figure out what his cocktail interests were by perusing a few dozen of his posts. After gathering up his favorite spirits, modifiers, and bitters, I set to work and fit it to a 1919 Cocktail structure. His interest in both rye and Old Tom gin made me think of the Call of the Wild, so I knew that the combination could work. Two sweeteners that he included in his cocktails were Benedictine and pineapple syrup, so why not both? Dry vermouth seemed necessary to balance the drink instead of something more bitter like Punt e Mes or oxidized like Oloroso sherry which both might drown out the pineapple notes. Finally, his sponsored post for Angostura Cocoa Bitters rounded off the recipe. For a name, I dubbed this drink after the nickname of one Augusta's most famous residents, Woodrow Wilson, which also seemed fitting since the 1919 aspect fell in the middle of his presidential term. That nickname was the Phrasemaker after his mastery of language and his not needing a speech writer during his career.The Phrasemaker spoke out with a chocolate, pineapple, and rye aroma. Next, a lightly caramel sip led into rye, juniper, pineapple, and herbal flavors on the swallow with a chocolate finish.