tide-breaker

1 oz Aged Dark Rum (3/4 oz Coruba + 1/4 oz Planteray OFTD)
1/2 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1/2 oz Old Overholt (86°)
1 cube Raw Sugar (>1/2 oz Raw Sugar Syrup)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass rinsed with absinthe (Kübler), and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Wednesdays ago, I opened up my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and landed on the Tide-Breaker by Eric Alperin at Los Angeles' The Varnish in the Sazerac section of the book. I later realized that Eric called the Jamaican rum, single rye, and brown sugar version of this combination Colonial Ties in his Unvarnished book. In the glass, the Tide-Breaker sent forth a lemon and anise bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel notes on the sip from the dark rums ripened into rye whiskey, funky rum, orange, and anise flavors on the swallow. Overall, I was surprised at how much the orange bitters sang through in the mix.