driftwood ember

1 oz Mezcal (Convite)
1 oz Coco-Washed Wray & Nephew Rum (Regular Wray) (*)
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat --> Servito Blanc) (*)
1/4 oz Giffard Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1/4 oz Ancho Reyes Verde Liqueur
(2 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a pandan leaf (omit).
(*) The first time I made it, I did it according to the recipe flashcard which mentioned only Wray & Nephew Rum. I then spotted that the Yelp menu photo which listed what I thought said cacao Wray, so I added in 2 dash of chocolate bitter and swapped the dry vermouth for blanc to give it a little more roundness. The menu actually said "coco-washed" which is probably coconut oil fat washed, not chocolate, which makes sense with the pandan garnish with the beach-inspired name. Perhaps a mix of Wray & Nephew and coconut rum would work without fat washing a whole batch. Two Wednesdays ago, I returned home from a canasta industry night sponsored by Drambuie and wanted an easy to make drink to round out the evening. I decided to return to my stockpile of Ancho Reyes Verde recipes and selected the Driftwood Ember at Pink Rabbit in Portland, Oregon, via online recipe flashcards. There, the rum was specified as Wray & Nephew which lured me in. After making it, I was able to find the drink in a January 2023 Yelp menu photo which listed the rum as "Coco-washed Wray" that the flashcards did not mention. At first, I mis-interpreted it as cacao nib-infused and added chocolate bitters when I remade this the next evening which rounded out the drink; however, the menu was really suggesting fat washing with melted coconut oil as I have done at a previous bar job (this time, I did not have Rusty Nails to blame though). As a general rule, I do not fat wash anything at home for single drinks, so perhaps adding in a coconut rum or liqueur (of which I have neither here) could get the flavor closer in a pinch. So with that said, take this recipe and post for what it is worth with all these concerns in mind. When prepared with the blanc vermouth (for roundness and body) and chocolate bitters on the second pass, the Driftwood Ember smoldered to the nose with a smoke, vegetal, rum funk, and chocolate bouquet. Next, white wine, apricot, and roast notes on the sip opened up into funky rum, spicy pepper, chocolate, and smoke flavors on the swallow.