hard times

1 1/2 oz Barrel-Aged Bols Genever
1 oz Borghetti Espresso Liqueur
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz Angostura Bitters
1/4 oz Amaro Braulio

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora in an ashtray, and garnish with a flamed spritz of absinthe.Two Tuesdays ago, I ventured down to Backbar for their new Mixtape-themed menu. The drink which called out to me was the Hard Times by Kyle Marshall that was inspired by Ray Charles' 1961 lesser-known track "Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I)". Backbar's Instagram later described, "It's bitter and a little intense like a good blues song should be. It also has Bols Genever and Caffè Borghetti because apparently Ray Charles required black coffee and a shot of Genever before ever gig as part of his contract." The one that bartender Peyton Ligon made for me began with anise, caramel, and clove aromas on the nose. Next, caramel and roast flavors on the sip slid into malty, coffee, pine, herbal, and roast flavors on the swallow. Overall, the combination was stunning, but it seemed to lose some cohesiveness as it warmed up. When I mentioned that to Peyton, he commented that they were toying with serving it on the rocks but ended up serving it up instead of having it diluted more over time.