bourbon renewal

2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Crème de Cassis (Massenez)
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with either a lemon wedge/wheel or berries in season (omit).

A few weeks ago, a guest at Drink requested a Bourbon and blackberries cocktail, and since we do not generally carry blackberries or blackberry brandy, my mind went to crème de cassis due to similar flavors. I immediately recalled Jeffrey Morgenthaler's Bourbon Renewal, and the recipe pleased them so much that I decided to make it at home. Previously, my only use for cassis at work was the El Diablo, but the recipe reminded me of drinks that we used to make at home circa 2006 like the Mississippi Mule of gin, lemon juice, and crème de cassis, so the concept felt very comforting. Jeffrey described the name in his blog post as, "This one was named after a band that my business partner, Tony Figoli, was in a long time ago. I thought the name was absolutely brilliant, so I decided to do up a drink to commemorate the band – and my favorite spirit at the time." Difford's Guide attributed the recipe to the BelAmi Lounge in Oregon in 2001, and when I posted on Instagram that the recipe was 21 and old enough to drink, Morgenthaler was amused.The way that I made it at home was the same save for the Lejay brand cassis and the Kold Draft ice cubes that we use at work. Here, the Bourbon Renewal proffered dark berry and Bourbon aromas. Next, lemon and blackberry notes on the sip flowed in to Bourbon, tart, dark berry, and clove flavors on the swallow.