bar boss

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
1/2 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1/2 oz Amaretto (Disaronno)
1/2 oz Cynar
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a cherry.Two weeks ago, I was getting bombarded on social media for folks posting their voting link to the Bar Boss competition for a celebrity mezcal brand. After generating and posting a fake one for Stan Jones (see below) with the quote "I'm not just a bar boss, I published the first Boss Cocktail recipe before you were a glimmer in your daddy's eyes", it got me thinking about the Boss which is a Bourbon Godfather that first apeared in Stan Jones' 1977 Complete Barguide. How could I update this to modern standards and call it the Bar Boss? Switching the Bourbon to rye and making it more complex as a split base with mezcal (as well as including it as a nod to the competition's sponsors) was a first step. The second was making the amaretto component more dynamic with Cynar; despite never having had both amaretto and Cynar in a cocktail before, I knew that both rye and mezcal make excellent partners with it. Adding in Angostura and mole bitters to complement the rye and mezcal, respectively, was a final touch.Once prepared, the Bar Boss greeted the senses with nutty, cherry, and hint of smoke aromas. Next, caramel and almond notes on the sip led the way to rye, funky vegetal, and nutty flavors on the swallow with a chocolate and smoke finish. My major regret when making this drink was that I posted it on Instagram with #barboss and related hashtags used in the competition which garnered me a lot of bot activity for over a week asking for my voting link in my DMs and leaving comments on the post (I deleted all but the first one though).