uss mallard special

1 1/2 oz Aged Panamanian Rum (Planteray Panama Old Reserve 1997)
1 oz Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Benedictine
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (8 drop St. George)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Wednesdays ago, I found a reference to a drink on KindredCocktails that would make use of my dusty bottle of Panamanian rum that has sat unused since a Planteray-sponsored virtual Daiquiri Time Out session during the Pandemic shutdown of 2020. That drink was the U.S.S. Mallard Special that David Wondrich wrote about on the DailyBeast from his rare copy of the 1939 naval-themed Kresch's Place cocktail book published by bar owner Isaac Kresch in Colón, Panama. The drink was named after a minesweeper in World War I that was later converted to a submarine rescue ship, and Wondrich adapted the recipe slightly by increasing the rum from 1 to 1 1/2 oz and adding a lemon twist. Overall, the combination of rum, sweet vermouth, and Benedictine reminded me of Trina's Starlite Lounge's Tony Montana and Bottoms Up's Tony Vaughn, so I was intrigued to try it with my funky Planteray rum. Once prepared, the U.S.S. Mallard Special sailed to the nose with a lemon, caramel, and herbal bouquet. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip opened up into aged rum, herbal, clove, and anise flavors on the swallow.