zakim

2 oz Evan Williams Bonded Bourbon
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz House Falernum (Velvet)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.Two Sundays ago, I spotted an interesting Manhattan variation on KindredCocktails called the Zakim from Alcove in Boston circa 2022. The database only had a reverse engineered recipe, so I hunted one down on the restaurant's Instagram and update the database accordingly. The drink was named after the stunning bridge visible from their doorway that leads into the Big Dig tunnel, and the combination of Punt e Mes and falernum is one that I have only seen a few times such as in the Flor de Muertos but always with citrus. The tropical Manhattan variation with Punt e Mes reminded me of the orgeat instead of falernum Little Caribbean, so I was intrigued to give this one a try. In the glass, the Zakim showcased lemon, Bourbon, and clove aromas. Next, the Punt e Mes' grape filled the sip that flowed into Bourbon, bitter herbal, clove, ginger, and lime flavors on the swallow.

606

1 1/2 oz Genever (Bols Barrel-Aged)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Sperone)
1/2 oz Fernet Branca

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Saturdays ago, I spotted a reference on KindredCocktails to the 606, and I was able to track it down in my 2010 copy of the Left Coast Libations book. The drink was created by San Francisco bartender Neyah White, and the recipe was on the same page as his Old Bill that I made shortly after purchasing the book at Tales of the Cocktail in 2010. The idea of Genever, Fernet, and vermouth reminded me a little of the Central Carré with Punt e Mes at Rendezvous, but if the Genever was a stand-in for gin, I could visualize this as a riff on the 1920s Hanky Panky. Once stirred and strained, the 606 presented an orange, malty, and bitter herbal bouquet to the nose. Next, malty, grape, and caramel notes on the sip opened up into malty, bitter herbal, and minty-menthol flavors on the swallow.