howl on the hill

1 1/2 oz El Dorado 15 Year Rum (12 Year)
1/2 oz Santa Teresa 1796 Rum (Planteray Panama 1997)
3/4 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe (12 drop Kübler)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. After receiving a half-full sample bottle of El Dorado 12 Year at the end of the grand tasting at Boston Rum Week 2026, I decided two Thursdays ago to delve into the Death & Co.'s books for drinks that I previously skipped over. The one I selected first was Howl on the Hill by Jessica Gonzalez in 2009 at the original Manhattan branch that I found in the Death & Co.: Modern Classic Cocktails book. The drink read like a dark rum Hanky Panky or Stingray, and Fernet and Yellow Chartreuse have worked well together in recipes like the Corpse Reviver #4 and Good Things Come. Jessica described how any drink with Fernet needs a reference to San Francisco which is perhaps why the "hill" part of the name came about; the "howl" aspect made me think of Allen Ginsberg's poem, and he wrote that during his San Francisco days in the 1950s. In the glass, the Howl on the Hill enchanted the senses with a caramel, grape, and menthol aroma. Next, grape and caramel notes continued on into the sip where they were joined by dark rum, minty, menthol, and anise flavors on the swallow.