post modern

1 1/2 oz Blended Scotch (Cutty Sark Prohibition)
1 oz Sloe Gin (Plymouth)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Honey Syrup 2:1 (3/8 oz 1:1)

Shake with ice and strain into an absinthe-rinsed (Kübler) cocktail coupe.Two Mondays ago, I was perusing Kindred Cocktails when I spotted Tom Richter's Post Modern that was published in Punch Drinks. Tom described how he based it "on a spirit combination of oft-overlooked sloe gin and Scotch, rinsed with absinthe." Given the name, I have to believe that he based it off of the Savoy Cocktail Book's Modern Cocktail #2 with the lemon juice aspect from the Modern #1:

Modern Cocktail (No. 2)
• 2/3 Sloe Gin
• 1/3 Scotch Whisky
• 1 dash Grenadine
• 1 dash Absinthe
• 1 dash Orange Bitters
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

The Modern #1 over time has won out though in part thanks to Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails book, and I have had variations like the Modern Cocktail based off of Ted's Modernista. Here with sloe gin, the Post Modern began with a berry and anise aroma. Next, lemon, honey, and dark red fruit on the sip leapt into smoky Scotch, plum, and raisin flavors on the swallow with a hint of anise. Some of those oxidized flavors are most likely due to the age of my sloe gin bottle -- it has not seen enough love over the years, so perhaps Tom's comment about sloe gin being overlooked rings true.