the alligator

2 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orange Liqueur (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lime wheel.Two Saturdays ago, I was researching a Fernet Branca recipe when Google led me to the Alligator on the The Educated Barfly's February 2023 post and video. The drink was attributed to Dante Wheat of the Neat Bourbon Bar in Louisville, Kentucky, as perhaps his take on a Jägerita (Jägermeister, Cointreau, lime, simple). The combination of Fernet Branca and orange liqueur was one that I encountered years ago in the Alcazar from Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 that inspired me to make a citrus spin of it with the Ali-Frazier. I later found an earlier Fernet-orange liqueur combination in Louis' Mixed Drinks from 1906 with the Fernet Cocktail. Here, that combination with lime and cinnamon syrup began with a lime, caramel, minty, and herbal aroma. Next, lime, orange, and caramel notes on the sip snapped at caramel, bitter herbal, menthol, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow. Overall, I was amazed at how much the Fernet dampened my robust batch of cinnamon syrup on the balance.