dead man's party

1 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
1 oz Mezcal (Fosforo Ensemble)
1/2 oz Amaro Sfumato
1/2 oz Aperol
2 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass, and garnish with a grapefruit twist. Two Wednesdays ago, I was reminded of the Veneto Negroni with Aperol and Sfumato as the bitter liqueur element and was inspired to tinker. Originally, I tried a 3:1 mix of rye whiskey to mezcal similar to the Knife to a Gun Fight with Bourbon and rinse of Scotch, but it was a bit thin. Instead, I went with an equal split of Cognac and mezcal that worked well in the 1910 Cocktail. For a name, I dubbed it after a song from Oingo Boingo, the Dead Man's Party, that I had on a mix I made to play at Drink which I recently revisited. The end result offered up grapefruit, smoke, and orange aromas to the nose. Next, orange, roast, and caramel notes on the sip gave way to Cognac, vegetal, bitter herbal, and orange flavors on the swallow with smoke, chocolate, and char on the finish.