Monday, December 22, 2025

westpoint

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
1/2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (Coruba)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Honey Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a lemon wedge (lemon twist).
Two Mondays prior, I grabbed my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion, and the Westpoint by Daniel Zacharczuk circa 2015 at Salt's Cure in Los Angeles spoke to me. For some reason, the structure quickly reminded me of the Sky Pilot despite that drink being an apple brandy and grenadine one without bitters but still with the dark rum as an accent. Searching the database, it is closer to the Lazy Bear though with lime and a different call of bitters. Once prepared, the Westpoint showcased lemon, honey, and whiskey aromas to the nose. Next, lemon, honey, and caramel notes on the sip marched into rye, funky rum, honey, and allspice flavors on the swallow.
posted by frederic at 8:00 AM
ingredients: , , , ,

1 comment:

MT said...

I was drawn to this because of the rye/Coruba which worked nicely. To give the booze more prominence, I'd probably reduce the honey/lemon to 1/3 oz each. I always find it tricky to balance honey syrup when the ratio with water isn't specified. At ~2.5:1, the lemon was still a bit too tart for my tastes but dilution helped. Might also consider swapping Elemakule tike bitters for Ango to draw out the Coruba some more. Overall, a great cold weather cocktail with a shout out to the warmer climate of the summer, at almost the midpoint between the summers of the past and future.

December 27, 2025 at 2:13 PM

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