the cane & the clove

1 oz Aged Rum (Planteray Fiji)
1 oz Mezcal Vago Elote (Banhez Espadin-Barril)
3/4 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (El Maestro Sierra)
1/4 oz Falernum (Velvet)
3 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a flamed orange twist (unflamed).Two Tuesdays ago, I was perusing the online recipe flashcards for Idlewind, a menuless speakeasy in Charlotte, when I spotted the Cane & the Clove. The recipe was a borrowed one for it was created by Francisco Terrazas at Houston's Pastry War and published in the December 2017 issue of Imbibe Magazine. I then recalled that I did not make the drink back then for I did not have elote-style mezcal (mezcal distilled with corn akin to pechuga); however, this time, I realized that I was probably never going to purchase a bottle for myself and that the large amount of Pedro Ximenez sherry would probably cover those flavor nuances. Therefore, I let my intrigue take over instead of passing up the recipe even with its similarities to the Haitian Divorce. In the glass, the Cane & the Clove donated an orange, raisin, rum, and clove aroma. Next, plum and grape notes on the sip ventured into aged rum, caramel, smoke, vegetal, raisin, and clove flavors on the swallow.