smoke break

1 1/2 oz Fernet Branca
1/2 oz Famous Grouse Smoky Black Scotch
1 oz Orgeat
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau Amontillado)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with 3 spritz Laphroaig Scotch (12 drops). Two Sundays ago, I was looking through online recipe flashcards, and I spotted the Smoke Break at the now closed La Moule in Portland, Oregon, and dated to around 2021 through a GoogleMaps menu photo. Besides having Trinidad Sour vibes, with the Fernet, it came across a little like the Golden Gate Swizzle but with some Scotch and a touch of oxidized sherry to enrich the orgeat's notes notes (and here no falernum). In the glass, the Smoke Break clocked out with a peat smoke, nutty, and menthol aroma. Next, a creamy lemon sip exhaled into an almond, minty, and menthol swallow that was overall rather mellow for a Fernet-driven recipe.