lonely holiday

1 oz Laphroaig 10 Year Scotch
1 oz Drambuie
1 oz Punt e Mes
1 tsp Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass (should be rocks glass with a large ice cube), and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Fridays ago, I was perusing that stack of online flashcards, and I was able to identify one of them, the Lonely Holiday, as being part of the Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.'s 2011 menu. The drink was in their more challenging "I Asked Her For Water She Gave Me Gasoline" section, and it read like a smoky Rusty Nail meets an embittered Rob Roy. After I posted it on Instagram, Al Sotack and Colin Shearn who were bartenders there at the time chimed in. While the recipe that I found had it as an up drink, Al remembered it as one served on a big ice cube in a rocks glass, and I was able to confirm that via a photo on Yelp. Colin did not recall the back history on the drink other than it was named after the Old 97s song, and Al remembers that it was created at the end of 2010 to be launched in early January of 2011 along with the Infernal Architect.Once prepared served up, the Lonely Holiday showcased orange oil over peat smoke and Scotch aromas. Next, a grape-driven sip gave way to smoky whisky, honey, bitter herbal, and allspice flavors on the swallow.