pisco! pisco!

1 1/2 oz Pisco (Macchu Pisco)
1/3 oz Suze Gentian Liqueur
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
2 wheel Cucumber

Muddle cucumber in the syrup, add the rest of the ingredients, shake with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a cucumber wheel. Two Sundays ago, I went to the index of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book to search for cucumber drinks, and I found the Pisco! Pisco! by Bianca Wendt at Bar Que Sera in Sawtell, Australia. I was drawn in for pisco and Suze have worked well in Backbar's Frightened Tiger, and gentian liqueur and cucumber have paired well in the Little Oaxacan. In chatting with Bianca on Instagram, I discovered that she was the manager at Michael Madrusan's The Everleigh from 2018-2020, and now is at a small beachtown around three hundred of miles north of Sydney. Once shaken and strained, the Pisco! Pisco! came across with a vegetal aroma with bright cucumber balanced by bassy gentian. Next, lime with a cucumber freshness on the sip swapped into pisco, floral, and gentian-herbal flavors on the swallow. I commented to Bianca that, "I really liked the interplay of cucumber and Suze, and my pisco choice supported the earthy and floral aspects."