good cork

1 oz Redbreast Pot Still Irish Whiskey (Redbreast Lustau)
1 oz Mezcal (Del Maguey Vida)
1/2 oz Benedictine
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with ice, and garnish with an apple slice (orange twist).Two Fridays ago was St. Patrick's Day, and I wanted to make an Irish whiskey-based recipe that evening to celebrate. My search led me to Phil Ward's Good Cork that he created at Mayahuel circa 2011 via articles in Liquor.com and SeriousEats. The concept reminded me of the Shruff's End that Phil created at Death & Co. in 2008 that bound two spirits, smoky Scotch and apple brandy, by way of Benedictine and Peychaud's, and his 2009 adaptation at Mayahuel, Jacko's End, which swapped the whisky out of Shruff's End for mezcal. Here, the Good Cork was akin to Jacko's End but with a hearty Irish whiskey in place of the apple brandy, and he garnished with an apple slice instead of a pear slice (Shruff's End has no garnish though). Once prepared, the Good Cork donated an orange and smoke aroma (orange since I had no apples on hand at the time). Next, a light caramel sip flowed into whiskey, vegetal, and herbal flavors on the swallow with an anise and smoke finish.