travel buddy

1 oz Knob Creek Rye Whiskey (1 1/2 oz Old Overholt 86°)
1/2 oz Aperol (3/4 oz)
1/2 oz Lillet Blanc (3/4 oz Cocchi Americano)
1 bsp Fernet Branca (3/16 oz)
1-2 dash Regan's Orange Bitters (2 dash)

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora or cocktail coupe, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.Two Mondays, I cycled back to Sean Soole's excellent Great Northern Cocktails book and opted for the Travel Buddy by Chris Howell of Winnipeg. While at first, it reminded me on paper of the Scarecrow as an American whiskey drink with a lightly bitter backbone that was dried out with a touch of Fernet, it turned out to be much closer to the Philabuster which has some extra complexity from Cynar. In the coupe, the Travel Buddy welcomed the senses with a lemon, apricot, and menthol aroma. Next, pear and orange notes on the sip ventured towards rye, gentian, menthol, and herbal flavors on the swallow.