casino soul

1 1/2 oz El Dorado 12 Year Rum (1 oz ED12 + 1/2 oz ED5) (*)
3/4 oz Blanc Vermouth (Dolin)
3/4 oz Cynar

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.
(*) The split was due to the limited volume left in my El Dorado 12 Year bottle.Two Wednesdays prior, I was scanning the Kindred Cocktails database when I came across the Casino Soul by Mike Treffehn that he created at the Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. in 2011, and the recipe was published a year later in Jason Wilson's column in the Washington Post. The combination reminded me of the Palm Viper (sweet vermouth) and the Fortune Teller (Bonal), so I was curious to see how dark rum and Cynar would do with blanc vermouth. Once prepared, the Casino Soul gambled with the senses and rolled a dark herbal and molasses aroma. Next, caramel with a white wine note on the sip paid out a dark rum melding into herbal notes on the swallow.