[la pagerie]

1 1/2 oz Rhum JM Gold
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Fee Brothers' Orgeat

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with 2 oz soda, garnish with a lime wedge, and add a straw.

Two Tuesdays ago, Andrea and I met up at Rendezvous after my dinner shift at work was over. Our mission was to get at least one last (late) dinner there before the restaurant changes owners, names, and barstaff. For a few months shy of 6 years, we have been been sitting at Scott Holliday's bar, and it was time to squeeze in a final rendezvous. For a drink, Scott mentioned that he had crafted something in the Collins vein with rhum agricole to deplete the bar's stock of it. Since the recipe lacked a name, I took a page from Ted Gallagher's Josephine's Bath and dubbed it La Pagerie after the family home in Martinique of Napoléon Bonaparte's first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais.
The drink began with a grassy rhum agricole nose with additional almond and lime aromas. Next, the sip was a cross between a sweet richness from the orgeat and a crispness from the lime. Finally, the rhum agricole appeared on the swallow where it was smoothed over by the orgeat's almond notes.

dragon's bane

1 1/2 oz St. George Terroir Gin (*)
1 1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Génépi des Alpes Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist a lemon peel over the top and discard.
(*) The drink was made for me batched up as a 2:1 drink, but Scott prefers it as the 1:1 listed above.

After my double shift two Wednesdays ago, I made my way down Mass Ave to meet up with Andrea at Rendezvous. For a post-work drink, I asked bartender Scott Holliday for the Dragon's Bane and for any history behind it. Scott explained how he was bewitched by the St. George Terroir Gin and was not incredibly satisfied with any combination until he made a Martinez. With a little tinkering, he created the Dragon's Bane as an advanced Martinez; I assumed the name was a reference to St. George, the Crusades-era knight who slayed a dragon.
The Dragon's Bane began with a lemon oil aroma that later gave way to more evergreen notes. A grape sip led into an intensely herbal and spruce swallow from the gin and Génépi that was balanced by bitter notes from the Punt e Mes.

red dwarf

2 oz Rye
1 oz Campari
1/2 barspoon Henri Bardouin Pastis
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Twist an orange peel over the top.

After Brick & Mortar, I headed across the street to Rendezvous to meet up with Andrea for dinner. There, bartender Scott Holliday wanted to make me the Red Dwarf - a drink I had read about in Luke O'Neil's article in the Boston Globe. The article describes how Scott took several classics including the Cocktail à la Louisiane, Boulevardier, and Sazerac and invented something inspired by these drinks. Scott was quoted as saying, "What we've done with the Peychaud's and pastis or absinthe is replace the aromatics of the vermouth in those cocktails with less sweetness, as you'd hoped, all while tipping the glass in the direction of New Orleans and Father Sazerac."
The orange oil from the twist played pleasantly with the herbal aromas of the Campari. Next, the rye's malt on the sip transitioned into its barrel notes on the swallow; afterwards, the Campari's complexity came through and things ended with the pastis' anise and other herbal flavors.

[pau d'arco]

2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida
1/2 oz Honey-Ginger Syrup
3 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters
3 dash Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with a lemon twist and add a straw.

Two Thursdays ago, I met up with Andrea at Rendezvous for dinner. For a drink, bartender Scott Holliday mentioned that he had been tinkering with a Penicillin-like drink but without citrus juice or a second spirit as a rinse. Since it was agave-based, it would be more like a Little Branch though. Instead of a spiced honey Sour, this came across more like an Old Fashioned. For a name, Scott was thinking about riffing off of Penicillin, and I later thought that Pau d'Arco, a botanical cure-all extract that originates in a tree found in Mexico and parts of South America, might work.
The lemon twist's aroma brightened the smokey agave notes and worked well with the honey ones. Next, a honey sip led into the mezcal swallow that faded away into a ginger and chocolate finish.

br'er rabbit

2 oz Old Overholt Rye
1/2 oz Crème de Cassis
1/2 oz Salers Gentiane Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Float a barspoon of absinthe and twist a lemon peel over the top. Add a straw.

After a drink at J.M. Curley, I ventured over to the Red Line for I had to meet up with Andrea at Rendezvous for dinner. Once there, bartender Scott Holliday suggested a drink he had recently created to fulfill a customers request for something bitter and blackberry-like but not sweet. For the berry and bitter elements, Scott utilized black currant and gentiane-based liqueurs, respectively.
The lemon oil mingled with the floated absinthe's anise on the nose. A malt and berry sip led into rye, black currant, and bitter gentian flavors on the swallow. Later, as the absinthe integrated into the drink, anise and other herbal elements joined the Salers on the finish. Overall, I was impressed as how well the gentian worked with the cassis; it made for an interesting pairing for the Salers complemented the tartness of the black currant berry.

gloamin dwines

2 oz White Horse Blended Scotch
1 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano
1 dash Scrappy's Celery Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass rinsed with Caol Ila 12 Year Scotch. Twist a lemon peel over the top.

For my second drink at Rendezvous, I wanted what Scott Holliday had made for Andrea as her first round; indeed, a few sips were not enough. The drink was called the Gloamin Dwines which is Scottish for "declining twilight"; perhaps this implies that the violet hour is leaving and night is about to set in.
The Gloamin Dwines offered up lemon oil aroma along with the briny smoke note of the Caol Ila. The Cynar's caramel and the Scotch's malt on the sip were lightened by the Cocchi Americano's citrussy hints. The Scotch played well with the Cynar on swallow, and the Cynar transitioned elegantly into the celery notes on the finish.

Polymorphous Perversity
• 2 oz Morin Selection Calvados
• 1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
• 1/2 oz Cocchi Americano
• 1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters
Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Twist a lemon peel over the top.

Andrea's second drink from Scott was a delightful apple cocktail full of savory and citrus notes that was perfect for the autumnal air.

magoun squad

2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with a cherry.
Two Thursday ago, Andrea and I dined at Rendezvous in Cambridge. For a first drink, bartender Scott Holliday made me a recipe that he had come up with the night before with Drink's John Gertsen. They named this mezcal Red Hook variation after the Winter Hill neighborhood in Somerville where Scott, John, and we live called Magoun Square. The drink began with a mezcal nose that led into a grape sip. The smoky agave was counted by the Maraschino on the swallow.

[piazza vecchia]

1 oz Chinaco Blanco Tequila
1 oz Nardini Bassano Grappa
1 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
1/3 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Scrappy's Celery Bitters
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass.

Two weeks ago, I was missing New Orleans since we opted not to go to Tales of the Cocktail this year. So when we were dining at Rendezvous, I asked bartender Scott Holliday to riff off of a classic New Orleans cocktail of his choosing. Moreover, I was motivated to do so since his Vieux Carré variation that I dubbed Central Carré (after Rendevous' Central Square location) was quite good. The direction Scott took was to riff once again off of the Vieux Carré but this time to make it a clear cocktail. In place of the Cognac, he used grappa. Instead of the whiskey, he changed gears and matched his grappa choice with blanco tequila.
The drink's bouquet offered up grappa's funkiness, tequila notes, and hints of chocolate. Next, the sip presented a dry grape paired with a vegetal note. Finally, the swallow contained tequila and grappa flavors along with herbal notes from the Yellow Chartreuse and celery bitters. Overall, I was impressed with Scott's insight of how grappa and tequila would play so well together in the glass. In addition, the dry vermouth and celery bitters pairing was also notable as it was in Drink's Farley Mowat.

armchair sailor

1 1/2 oz Broadbent Rainwater Madeira
3/4 oz Crème Yvette
2 dash Scrappy's Celery Bitters

Pour the chilled ingredients (batched and kept in the refrigerator) into a flute glass. Top with ~3 oz of cava.

Two Tuesdays ago, Andrea and I went to dinner at Rendezvous. For a before dinner cocktail, I asked bartender Scott Holliday for the Armchair Sailor that recently appeared on their cocktail menu. When I inquired about the name, Scott explained that Madeira has a maritime history; however, the violet, berry, and celery notes did not seem like a real sailor's drink to him.  Scott also mentioned stirring the ingredients with ice made a drink that was too dilute, so he ended up batching everything but the cava and keeping it in the refrigerator.
The Armchair Sailor greeted me with a floral aroma that paired nicely with the green celery notes. The carbonated grape sip showcased the Crème Yvette's fruity flavors, and the swallow dried out with the sharper Madeira notes. Moreover, the swallow ended with celery and floral violet accents on the finish. Indeed, Scott's suggestion that the Armchair Sailor would make a great pre-prandial cocktail was spot on.

white negroni

2 oz Death's Door Gin
1 oz Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz Suze

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

The other drink Scott Holliday made for me at Rendezvous was a White Negroni using a bottle of Suze that he acquired through a French friend of his. Suze is a French wine-based bitter liqueur flavored with wild gentian root and other botanicals, and it substitutes here for the Campari in the regular Negroni. The PDT Cocktail Book provides a history that the recipe was created by Wayne Collins in London cerca 2002; the recipe that the book presents was similar save for 3/4 oz of Suze instead of the 1/2 oz that Scott used. As I mentioned in the Two Cups of Blood post, it is still unclear whether Suze will be entering our market anytime soon with so many exciting promises left unfulfilled over the past few years.
The White Negroni's lemon twist donated the initial bouquet before gentian and other vegetal aromas came to the forefront. The Cocchi Americano's citrus wine notes filled the sip, and the swallow offered Suze's pleasing bitterness that played well with the gin's botanicals.

johnny jump up

3/4 oz Morin Selection Calvados
3/4 oz Luxardo Triple Sec
3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Pastis

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Wednesday last week, Andrea and I went to Rendezvous for dinner. For my first cocktail, bartender Scott Holliday made me his tribute to spring named after the Johnny Jump Up flower. The plant is native to the Pyrenees which is not too far from where the Calvados in the drink was made; cultivars planted in American gardens eventually escaped and spread throughout much of the United States. Besides the seasonal flower aspect, the name was in part a tribute to Johnny Appleseed, the American Dionysus, who brought cider apple trees westward and in part a nod to the Corpse Reviver in which the drink was based.
The Johnny Jump Up greeted my nose with an apple and lemon aroma that later gained a hint of anise as the drink warmed up. Citrus notes from the lemon and Cocchi Americano filled the sip, and the swallow offered orange liqueur and apple flavors with a light anise note at the end. Overall, I think that the drink reminded me more of an apple Hoop La than a Corpse Reviver #2.

red rackham

2 oz Plantation 5 Year Barbados Rum
1 oz Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz Batavia Arrack
2 dash Balinese Bitters (*)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
(*) An equal parts Balinese peppercorn tincture and Fee's Whiskey Barrel Bitters mixture.

Tuesday last week, Andrea and I had dinner at Rendezvous in Central Square. For my first drink, I asked bartender Scott Holliday for the Red Rackham. The drink was named after the pirate captain in Tintin story who in turn was named after an early 18th century pirate, "Calico" Jack Rackham. I was quite curious about the bitters Scott crafted for this drink, and he explained that they were aromatic bitters combined with a tincture of Balinese Long Pepper. Compared to normal peppercorns, the Balinese ones are more floral, earthy, and complex with heat, fruit notes, and spice notes reminiscent of cardamom and nutmeg. Sticking to the theme, the recipe was based after the classic Pirate's Cocktail (rum, sweet vermouth, Angostura) with the addition of complexity from Batavia Arrack and the peppercorn tincture.
The addition of Batavia Arrack paid dividends in the aroma where its funkiness joined the sweet vermouth's richness and the aged rum's barrel notes. The vermouth's grape and rum's caramel notes filled the sip; next, the swallow began with rum and Batavia Arrack and concluded with spice on the finish including cinnamon and peppercorn. Like in the traditional Pirate's Cocktail, the aged rum worked well to complement the sweet vermouth.

[brautigan]

2 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye
1/2 oz Galliano l'Autentico
2 oz Orange Juice

Build in a rocks glass with ice. Garnish with an orange twist and add a straw.
For my second drink at Rendezvous last week, bartender Scott Holliday said he was tinkering with the Slow Comfortable Screw Against The Wall-like drinks and tried to give some glory to the fallen genre. When Scott said that he thought about the Richard Brautigan poem "Fuck me like fried potatoes" instead of a Wallbanger or other, I was intrigued.

Fuck Me Like Fried Potatoes
by Richard Brautigan

Fuck me like fried potatoes
on the most beautifully hungry
morning of my God-damn life.

So would this drink make a good breakfast drink on that most beautiful morning? The drink started with an orange and vanilla aroma and these notes followed in the sip. The swallow contained the whiskey's heat and the Galliano's spice especially the star anise. The Rittenhouse Rye contributed a lot of flavor and backbone to the drink that the classic Harvey Wallbanger sadly lacks. In a way, the drink reminded me a bit of the Monkey Gland with the orange and herbal notes, especially since I had watched Robert Hess' video about that drink earlier that day.

el rico rickey

2 oz Lunazul Reposado Tequila
1 oz Rhubarb Juice (*)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Build on ice. Top with soda water and stir. Garnish with a lime wheel and add a straw.
(*) This was a sweetened juice and no heat was utilized; I did not ask how much sugar was added.

Last Thursday, Andrea and I went to Rendezvous in Central Square for dinner. Bartender Scott Holliday had just revamped the menu and added a few new drinks including the "El Rico" Rickey. Scott mentioned that it was his first tequila drink to ever appear on the menu. Moreover, Scott commented that "Rickey purists will harumph" because it is not a true Rickey; Rickeys as they were created in the late 19th century contain little or no sweetener to balance the tart lime juice. Also, Rickeys often include the half shell of the squeezed lime to be dropped in the drink. Regardless, I was not going to let a tequila-rhubarb drink slip by me; the last one I had was quite delightful.
The "El Rico" Rickey began with a fresh lime aroma complemented by some agave notes. Despite the sweetener added to the drink, the sip was still crisp and limey; perhaps the tartness of the rhubarb juice helped to counter the added sugar. The tequila and rhubarb flavors appeared on the swallow and pleasantly lingered on the palate for a bit. Just like my previous experience with the pairing, rhubarb and tequila definitely proved to be a delightful match.

cynar fizz

2 oz Cynar
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 Egg White

Shake with a Hawthorne strainer spring without ice to froth up the egg white. Add ice and shake again. Strain into a Champagne flute and top with 1 - 1 1/2 oz soda water.

For my second drink at Rendezvous last week, I asked bartender Scott Holliday if he had any ideas with egg or egg white. He replied that he had been tinkering with a rather simple Cynar Fizz -- solely the liqueur, lemon juice, egg white, and soda water. I was intrigued so I nodded with approval.

In the Fizz, the Cynar contributed greatly to the aroma. The sip was smooth from the egg white as well as citrussy and crisp from the lemon juice. Next, the swallow presented the Cynar herbal flavor that had been mellowed out considerably by the egg white. While I did not mind the drink's tartness, maybe a quarter to half ounce of simple syrup might shift the drink to something more accessible to those who like moderate to sweeter drinks, respectively.

[french derby]

3 oz Citadelle Gin
1/4 oz Matilde Pear Liqueur
2 dash Fee's Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters
2 sprig Mint

Muddle mint in other ingredients and let mascerate for a few minutes. Remove mint, add ice, stir, and strain into a rocks glass.

Two Tuesdays ago, I met Andrea at Rendezvous for dinner. For my first drink, bartender Scott Holliday said that he had been playing around with the mint and gin-based Derby cocktail (for a historical overview of the classic, see Doug Ford's post) and asked if I would like to try it. His modifications took the drink in a French direction for he used Citadelle gin from the Pierre Ferrand distillery in Cognac and he switched the peach bitters to pear liqueur from Anjou. The French actually do have a derby called the Prix du Jockey Club that is run every year in early June, although I am not sure what their official drink is.
This Derby variation provided a glorious mint bouquet. The sip was sweet with a hint of pear and was followed by mint, gin, and spice on the swallow. The liqueur, beside adding a bit of sugar to the drink, donated some body as well. Overall, the drink made for a refreshing but potent crushed ice-free Julep.

pisco crusta

2 oz Capel Pisco
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
2 dash Abbott's Bitters (sub Angostura)

Shake with ice and strain into a small wineglass with a sugar-coated rim. Garnish with a wide lemon peel looped around the inside of the glass' opening.

Last Friday, Andrea and I went to Rendezvous for dinner. There, I spoke to bartender Scott Holliday about an online class I took on Cognac. Scott was curious as to what the course covered, and he got excited when I mentioned that the Brandy Crusta was one of the drinks they discussed.

The Crusta was created by Joseph Santini in New Orleans around 1852. At his Jewel of the South bar in the French Quarter, he was believed to have created the drink that eventually transformed into the Sidecar. A decade or two later, Jerry Thomas described the Crusta as being a Fancy Brandy Cocktail with the addition of a sugar-crusted rim and lemon juice. While the sugar-coated rim helped to give the drink its name, the addition of citrus to cocktails was a big leap forward. To put the Crusta in perspective, Jerry Thomas also provided the recipes for the classic Brandy and the Fancy Brandy Cocktails. The Brandy Cocktail was spirit, bitters, curaçao, and gum syrup on crushed ice, and the only upgrade from that to the Fancy Brandy Cocktail was straining out the ice and adding the lemon peel that later became better associated with the Crusta. It is also worth mentioning that subsequent versions of the Crusta contain Maraschino liqueur in place of or in addition to the orange liqueur.

Originally, according to David Wondrich in Imbibe!, the lemon juice was meant more as an accent than as the basis of a Sour type drink. Today, the lemon juice portion can be quite considerable, and it is the addition of the bitters, the wide lemon peel, and sometimes the glassware choice that distinguishes the Crusta from the Sidecar.
The spirit that Scott has been excited about experimenting with recently is Pisco, so he decided to make me a Pisco Crusta. The drink was very much like a Sidecar, but here, the citrus peel donated a grand lemon oil aroma. Moreover, the pisco added a delightful grape eau de vie note to the drink and the Abbott's Bitters provided a bit of complexity to the mix including clove and pimenta racemosa flavors. Indeed, the balance was a bit tarter than most Sidecars usually are, but still within the acceptable if not preferable range; the addition of sweetness from the sugared rim did adjust the balance as needed.

tequila scaffa

2 oz Milagro Añejo Tequila
1 oz Maurin Quinquina

Pour into a rocks glass, stir briefly, and garnish with a lime knot twist. Note: ice is not used in this drink.

Last Wednesday, Andrea and I visited Rendezvous in Central Square for dinner. When I began talking drinks with bartender Scott Holliday, he mentioned that he came up with another Scaffa. Scaffas are an old fashioned style of drink of spirits, liqueurs, and/or bitters that are mixed and served at room temperature sort of like a Poussé-cafe without the layering. He had recently served the Rum Scaffa to a customer who then inquired what other Scaffas he could conjure up. Scott made this tequila one up on the spot, and I was served the second one a few days later.
The drink started with a lime and agave spirit aroma. The soft quinquina sip dotted with vanilla notes helped to quench the heat of the tequila on the swallow. Interestingly, the drink had an almost citrussy botanical finish. Initially I attributed the citrus aspect to the quinquina, but as the drink sat as I ate dinner, these notes intensified. I then realized that it was the lime twist that was elegantly infusing into the spirits over time. When I mentioned this to Scott, he was pleased for the feedback because he had originally tossed the peel after expressing the oil on the first take of this recipe.

golden flip

The theme for this month's Mixology Monday (MxMo LIV) was picked by Josh Cole of the Cocktail Assembly blog. Josh chose the theme of Flips that he more poetically phrased as "See You on the Flipside." His description was as follows, "There's never a bad time or temperature to enjoy the frothy glory that is the flip... When it's cold and the icy chill is tearing its way through to our bones, the heated flip opens its arms and embraces us like a warm blanket. When it's hot, the cool flip lowers the heat and can bring back that spring day memory of a creamy shake enjoyed on a front porch."

Hearing that the theme was Flips made me rather giddy at first since I love these drinks but also a little worried for we had worked our way through most of the interesting ones that we have found in our drink books. One option that was suggested to me was to take a classic drink and convert it into Flip format. This can be an intriguing experiment for sharp flavors are often smoothed over by the egg element, and a delightfully muted beverage is the end result. I was about to do that, but I decided to give our cocktail book library a last perusal.

Lo and behold, in George J. Kappeler's 1895 Modern American Drinks, I spotted one that I had not only never had before but never have spotted in another drink book -- the Golden Flip! I was a bit concerned that I had not observed this recipe in other books for recipes are often plagiarized in later publications. Was this drink that bad that it deserved to be forgotten? The zany dessertness of it grabbed me and we decided to give it a whirl. The drink had five ingredients -- two spirits, sugar, an egg, and a nutmeg garnish. The last three are standards for the style, but a Flip containing solely two liqueurs was a bit strange -- especially with those two being Maraschino and Yellow Chartreuse! For some reason, Kappeler felt the need to add even more sugar to these already sweet spirits.

Golden Flip
• 1 oz Maraschino (Luxardo)
• 1 oz Yellow Chartreuse
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• 1 Egg
Dissolve sugar in a splash of water. Add spirits and egg. Shake once without ice and once with, and double strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

I kept the recipe intact but modernized the technique. There was no doubt about the naming convention -- it surely was golden!
The nose was mostly from the nutmeg with a hint of the Maraschino poking through. As for the taste, the sip was smooth but a bit non-distinctive; however, the swallow really packed a flavor punch with the Maraschino and Yellow Chartreuse shining through including the funkiness of the former and the mint-like note of the latter. Andrea described the flavor as "marzipan-like" and declared that it made for a good dessert cocktail. Surprisingly, the drink was not painfully sweet as the egg hid a lot of the sweetness, although I am still not sure that it needed the extra sugar. On the other hand, as the drink warmed up, it became a bit sweeter. Therefore, the egg and the cold must have been teaming up to mask the sugar content.

While Kappeler might have been writing about modern American drinks 116 years ago, I felt that the drink needed something to bring it into this decade. I felt that the drink could prosper from an aged spirit, like rye or Cognac, for it lacks a harsh note. With a base spirit, it might approach the wonders of the Widow's Kiss, one of Kappeler's other drinks in the book -- so perhaps not modernized at all, but adapted in his style. When I discussed the matter with Rendezvous' bartender Scott Holliday, he was intrigued by the recipe and how it could be improved. He opted for spiking it with overproof rye to cut down on the sweetness factor and to give it some backbone.

Golden Rye Flip
• 1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse Rye
• 3/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino
• 3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
• 1 Egg
Shake once without ice and once with, and double strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

The rye definitely added to the drink including donating a malty nose. I expected to be bludgeoned by the whiskey; instead, it was the Maraschino that dominated. The recipe change did decrease the Yellow Chartreuse notes, but the Luxardo Maraschino was immutable. Perhaps a less domineering Maraschino like Maraska or Stock would have worked better. While the addition of rye and the removal of the sugar did make the drink less of a dessert cocktail, it was still rather sweet. Perhaps switching the recipe to 2:1/2:1/2 might have helped. Instead of rye, I could see a nice peaty Scotch working wonders here.
Cheers to Josh for hosting and picking this month's egg-cellent theme and to farmer Paul Clarke for managing the MxMo chicken coop!

penicillin flip

2 oz White Horse Blended Scotch
1/2 oz Honey-Ginger Syrup
1 Egg
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters
1 dash Mole Bitters
1 wide piece Lemon Peel

Add ingredients to mixing glass. Twist lemon peel over contents and drop in. Shake once without ice and once with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. Grate nutmeg over the top and float a barspoon of Laphroaig 10 Year Single Malt Scotch on the surface.

On Thursday, I visited Rendezvous for dinner and sat at the bar in front of bartender Scott Holliday. For one of my drinks, Scott wanted to make me a flip that he had made Andrea, namely one based off of Sam Ross' Penicillin Cocktail. Since egg can hide a bit of sugar, Scott removed the lemon juice and substituted a lemon peel in the mix like in La Florida Cocktail Book's Josephine Baker recipe.
One of the major differences between the flip and the cocktail forms was that the flip was less spicy and more subdued. The flip started with a peat aroma from the single malt float coupled with spice notes from the nutmeg garnish. The smooth, creamy sip contained a surprising amount of bright lemon notes from the peel; moreover, the swallow had the smoke, honey, and ginger elements that round off the regular Penicillin Cocktail.