the diary of horace wimp

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (3/4 oz Old Overholt 86° + 3/4 oz Rittenhouse Bonded)
1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/4 oz Peated Scotch (Ardbeg 10 Year)
2 dash Walnut Bitters (Strongwater)

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Two Tuesdays ago, I was lured in by a drink created and posted by Philadelphia cocktail enthusiast Alan Grove as part of his Mixtape Monday series on Instagram called The Diary of Horace Wimp. This tribute to the 1979 song by the Electric Light Orchestra utilized the pairing of Amaro Montenegro and coffee liqueur which have appeared in drinks like the Poderoso and Backbar's Black Magic, so I was curious to try it here as a Black Manhattan-Revolver mashup of sorts. In the glass, The Diary of Horace Wimp showcased a coffee roast and peat smoke aroma. Next, roast and nectarine notes on the sip became hitched to rye, coffee roast and bitterness, tangerine, and peat smoke flavors on the swallow.

gentlemen's exchange

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Suze Gentian Liqueur
1/2 oz Averna (*)
1 tsp Coffee Liqueur (Luxardo Espresso) (*)
3 dash Absinthe (24 drop St. George) (*)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.
(*) This adaptation was originally created and published with Foro Amaro, cold brew concentrate, and 4 dashes of absinthe. Two Mondays ago, I decided to make the Gentlemen's Exhange by Leo Robitschek at The NoMad Bar in Manhattan circa 2016. I had previously skipped over the recipe in The NoMad Cocktail Book which calls for Foro Amaro and cold brew concentrate which I do not have at home. The version in The Madrusan Cocktail Companion replaces the Foro Amaro and cold brew concentrate for Averna and coffee liqueur which made the drink more accessible. Indeed, Averna and gentian liqueur worked well together in the Southern Gentleman and the Zig Zag Wanderer, so I was ready to give it a go here. In the glass, the Gentlemen's Exchange showcased a grapefruit, rye, and gentian-herbal aroma. Next, grape and roast notes on the sip welcomed in rye, gentian-coffee bitterness, and anise flavors on the swallow.

señor bali hai

1 oz Mezcal (Convite)
1 oz Black Jamaican Rum (Coruba)
1/2 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
3/4 oz Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur
1/2 oz 2:1 Simple Syrup (2/3 oz 1:1)
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 pinch Salt (3 drop 20% Saline)

Whip shake, pour into a mug, and fill with crushed ice. I garnished with mint sprigs. Two Mondays ago, my Instagram pal Rob Balazs posted a recipe called the Señor Bali Hai created by his friend Charley Hicks. The idea is a Mexican-themed riff on the Mr. Bali Hai that swaps some of the rum for mezcal and Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur. I have tried mezcal in a split base Mr. Bali Hai variation in the Mistah Bittah Hai and in my King Kopeika, so I was curious to try it with Ancho Reyes in the mix. Once assembled, the Señor Bali Hai gave forth mint over coffee, agave, and smoke aromas. Next, pineapple, lemon, and roast notes on the sip opened up into rum, coffee, vegetal, chili pepper spice, and smoke flavors on the swallow. I felt that with the robust Mr. Black, if I were to make this again, perhaps I would tone down that volume to a half ounce or use a less intense coffee liqueur so that it did not take over the flavor profile here. Moreover, I could not help to think that the theme could be bolstered by replacing the Jamaican rum with one of the many cane spirits coming out of Mexico these days such as Uruapan Charanda (partly because Coruba's light funk note got lost in the mix here).

bad juju

1 oz Planteray OFTD Rum
1/2 oz Brugal 1888 Rum (Privateer New England Reserve)
1/2 oz Monkey Shoulder Scotch (3/8 oz Cutty Sark Prohibition + 1/8 oz Laphroaig)
1/2 oz Borghetti Coffee Liqueur
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Coco Lopez

Whip shake, pour into a glass (coconut mug), top with crushed ice, and garnish with 2 pineapple fronds, a banana chip, and freshly grated coffee bean.

Two Wednesdays ago, I opened up the Spec recipe app, and in the Bardtenders podcast's collection, I found the Bad Juju as a Piña Colada riff created by one of the podcast's hosts, Jon Mateer. Jon runs the bar program at TPC Sawgrass golf course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and perhaps the name refers to one of the cursed holes. One article described, "The phrase 'bad juju' at TPC Sawgrass most famously relates to the notorious water-logged history of the iconic par-3 17th island green, where PGA Tour groups have occasionally suffered collective meltdowns by hitting their tee shots straight into the water." I thought that I had tried a coffee-tinged Piña Colada before, but alas, I had not; the closest was Chad Austin's pineapple-less Aztec Warrior, so the Bad Juju was indeed a first. Once prepared, the Bad Juju offered up coffee and a hint of smoke on the nose. Next, a creamy sip with roast notes slid into burly rum, hint of smoky Scotch, coconut, pineapple, and coffee flavors on the swallow. Jon commented on my Instagram post, "Love the addition of splitting the Scotch here! That 1/8 of Laphroaig is money," to which I explained that the last of "my Cutty Sark bottle ran short, so I figured to fill the gap with flavor instead of a more neutral blended whisky."

ohana joe

1 oz Planteray OFTD Rum
1 oz Planteray Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
1/3 oz St. George Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/2 oz Rich Demerara Syrup (1:1)
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Build in a Collins or Pilsner glass, fill with crushed ice, swizzle to mix and chill, top with crushed ice, and garnish with 3 coffee beans.

Two Mondays ago, I was scanning Kindred Cocktails and spotted the Ohana Joe by Jeff Cleveland then of the Tonga Hut in Palm Springs, California. I was able to trace it back to a 2016 post on Critiki (that I was able to read through the Wayback Machine). While at Jeff's home, blogger Humuhumu Trott mentioned that her favorite drink was the Mai Kai's Black Magic, and this is what he served her. Humuhumu explained, "It was so new, it didn't yet have a name. Jeff asked me to help name it, and together we came up with Ohana Joe: a nod to the coffee in the drink, and to the feeling of warm welcome Jeff's had from the tiki 'ohana, and to the historic Palm Springs tiki bar Aloha Jhoe's." Once assembled, the Ohana Joe ushered in coffee and pineapple aromas. Next, roast and lime notes on the sip transformed into burly rum, coffee, and pineapple flavors on the swallow. While I expected a Mr. Bali Hai, I ended up with something a bit more complex given the overproof and pineapple rums, the lower pineapple juice quotient, and the lime instead of lemon juice.

coffee and cigarettes

1/2 oz Mezcal (Convite)
1/2 oz Islay Scotch (Ardbeg 10 Year)
1/2 oz Demerara Rum (Hamilton 86°)
3/4 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Wednesdays ago, I looked to Kindred Cocktails and spotted the Coffee and Cigarettes by user Applejack from Chicago in 2015, and it was different from the Coffee and Cigarettes I wrote about a few years ago from Chad Austin. This split-base drink features coffee liqueur and Cynar as the modifiers that I gained an appreciation for in a few drinks like the Lake Union and Palisades and utilized in my Why Don't You Do Right. Once prepared, the Coffee and Cigarettes initiated things with a lemon, peat smoke, coffee, and herbal bouquet. Next, caramel and roast notes on the sip percolated into smoky, coffee, caramel, herbal, and vegetal flavors on the swallow.

chocolate stinger (audrey saunders)

2 oz Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
1/4 oz Marie Brizard Crème de Menthe (Tempus Fugit)
1/4 oz Marie Brizard Crème de Cacao (Bols White)
1 tsp Kahula
1 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe or an old fashioned glass with ice.

Two Saturdays ago, I decided to make a recipe that I found in Pierre Ferrand's 2016 NYC Cocktail Book called the Chocolate Stinger that was created, or better stated improved upon, by Audrey Saunders at the Pegu Club in Manhattan. The Stinger is a classic first published in 1914 that dates back to the 1890s of shaken instead of stirred Cognac and crème de menthe. It is also a drink that I have a distinct memory of from Russell House Tavern. While we did put it on the menu in 2014, in 2013, I recall two troublesome townie women who sat at my bar one early afternoon and one of them ordered a Stinger. I recall shaking it, serving it on crushed ice, and garnishing with a mint sprig (*). She was appalled at the presentation and asked for it to be strained. Luckily, when it was later on the menu, my bar manager was smart enough to serve it up. I think that bar guest would be appalled by this variation of a Stinger as well given the excess flavors and lower mint quotient than expected. However, Audrey's recipe was tempting for crème de menthe and cacao work well together as I learned in Death & Co.'s Midnight Mountain and that I utilized in my Year of the Dragon, and minty Fernet works amazingly with crème de cacao. One Instagram friend commented that the Chocolate Stinger reminded them of the After Eight which is crème de menthe with either chocolate or coffee liqueur depending on the recipe with either vodka or Bailey's as the third ingredient; here, all three liqueurs are present, so that observation was rather on point. It turns out that there is a mid-century recipe known as the Chocolate Stinger that is simply the two crème liqueurs with or without vodka shaken together. Given Audrey Saunders' high level of perfecting drinks, it was a good reason to shake up (instead of stir) another straight spirits recipe. In the glass, Audrey's Chocolate Stinger gave forth brandy and mint aromas. Next, mint and roast notes on the sip developed into Cognac, chocolate, and mint flavors on the swallow with coffee and mint on the finish.

(*) Postnote 7/13/26: While reading Toby Maloney's The Classic Cocktail Sessions, he pointed out that Dale DeGroff serves his Stingers in a rocks glass with crushed ice and garnished with a mint sprig; however, both the original and updated recipes in Dale's The Craft of the Cocktail book leave out the mint garnish. Difford's Guide includes the mint garnish in his preferred recipe but offers up older recipes served in a cocktail glass including Straub's 1913 recipe that includes a lemon peel in a regal shake.

the king's shilling

1 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Aged Rum (Doorly's 12 Year)
1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/4 oz Pineapple Syrup
2 dash Aromatic Bitters (Angostura)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist and pineapple frond (omit the latter). Two Wednesday ago, I received my copy of the Let's Do Drinks book by Elliott Clark who runs the Apartment Bartender account on Instagram. There, I selected the King's Shilling by Sean Traynor, now a bar owner in Phoenix, when he was at a bar called Counter Intuitive. Overall, the recipe reminds me of Shore Leave's Dawn of Hospitality that took the coffee-pineapple syrup concept in a Sazerac direction. In the glass, the King's Shilling served up an orange, caramel, and roast bouquet to the senses. Next, pineapple and roast notes on the sip shuffled into Bourbon, rum, coffee, tropical fruit, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

soul wandering

3/4 oz Genever (Bols Barrel-Aged)
3/4 oz Gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist.

After making the City to City the day before that was related to the Transmigration, I was inspired to turn the two-Scotch and two-rum drinks, respectively, into a Genever-gin one. Genever and gin have worked in everything from stirred drinks like the Precursor to tropical ones like the Modern Prometheus. Moreover, Genever has paired well with Cynar and coffee liqueur such as in the Wild Card and the Hard Times, respectively, so I figured that the combination had a good chance to click. For a name, I ended up on Soul Wandering to stick with the migration theme. Once prepared, the Soul Wandering opened up with an orange, malty, caramel-roast, and herbal aroma. Next, roast and grape notes on the sip shifted into malty, coffee, and herbal flavors on the swallow. A day or two later, my Instagram friend Tim Kirkland made this drink and wrote in his own post, "Bold, complex, rich. Genever lovers, listen up! As a huge Genever fan, I'm always looking for creative ways to showcase this amazing spirit. This cocktail checks all boxes. Offering hints of juniper, malt, a little cola, coffee, black grapes, orange peel, and a very slightly bitter/malt/coffee finish, the Genever was perfect in this. The gin/Genever combo worked well to bring out the bitter notes from the Cynar, while accentuating the rich coffee notes. The orange oils sort of brought everything together in a wonderful way."

city to city

3/4 oz Scotch (Famous Grouse)
3/4 oz Islay Scoth (Ardbeg 10 Year)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora (coupe) glass, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Thursdays ago, the second drink I made was one that I found on my Instagram feed as posted by my friend Daniel Zajic called the City to City. The recipe was crafted by Tom Lasher-Walker at Fresh Kills in Brooklyn as a riff on Sasha Petraske's Migration and named after Gerry Rafferty's 1978 album. I learned of the Migration through Tom's other riff, the rum-based Transmigration, that also utilized the coffee element not found in Sasha's drink. Once prepared, City to City gave forth an orange, smoke, and coffee aroma. Next, roast, grape, and caramel notes on the sip traveled to smoky Scotch, herbal, and coffee flavors on the swallow.

inwood

2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz Café Lolita (Borghetti)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Mondays prior, I was lured by an unusual combination in the Inwood at Attaboy via online recipe flashcards. One friend on Instagram commented that they had not experimented with Chartreuse and coffee flavors, and I commented that "I have never seen it before. Cacao and hot chocolate, yes." Since Green Chartreuse can stand up to Fernet such as in the similarly structured Green Hornet, I figured that it would do alright with even a robust coffee liqueur. Once stirred and strained, the Inwood presented a lemon, coffee, and herbaceous aroma. Next, a roast-driven sip led into rye, coffee, and herbal flavors on the swallow with roast and orange elements coming through on the finish.

palenque punch

1 oz Convite Una Mezcal
1 oz Luxardo Bitter Bianco
1/2 oz Luxardo Espresso Liqueur
1/2 oz Acidified Pineapple Juice (*)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup (1:1)

Build over ice and stir. I batched and poured over ice. While developing the recipe, it actually tasted rather good undiluted at room temperature too.
(*) Pineapple juice was acidified with 6% citric acid (94 grams pineapple to 6 grams citric). Skipping the acidification and replacing with 1/2 oz regular pineapple juice + 1/2 oz lemon juice would work well. In late February, the Hotaling Company reached out to see if I would represent Convite Mezcal and Luxardo at Speed Rack in late March. I was asked to create the drink and run the booth as I was one of the lucky bartenders to spend several days down in Oaxaca with the Convite team where I gave a master class to local bartenders, answered questions, and did guest bartending shifts during my session in January 2023. For a recipe that I presented two weeks ago, I utilized the Convite Una Mezcal (that also benefits breast cancer charities like Speed Rack does) as well as their suggestion of using Luxardo Bitter Bianco. When they sent me some samples including Luxardo's Espresso Liqueur, I became inspired to make something akin to the Mr. Bali Hai. When I have done mezcal variations of that tropical drink, I have utilized cinnamon instead of plain simple syrup to provide complementary flavors and add a bit or roundness to the unaged spirit. As I was batching 150 full-sized portions at just shy of 16 liters, I went with an acidified pineapple juice instead of sourcing fruit and preparing 75-80 ounces of fresh lemon juice. It also made the mix shelf stable at room temperature so I could prep it a day in advance and not worry about refrigeration. Overall, it was a success. Midway through the event, folks were coming up to the booth by way of word of mouth that they needed to try this, and one patron even returned to tell me that my drink was the best of the night and asked for a second helping. Since I had a little left over from the event, I decided to make it my nightcap and prepared tasting notes. In the glass, the Palenque Punch began with a cinnamon, espresso roast, and pineapple aroma. Next, the roast and pineapple elements continued on into the sip where they were chased by smoky vegetal flavors blending into bitter herbal ones that lead into coffee and cinnamon notes on the swallow.

faithful departed

1 oz Dubliner Irish Whiskey (Teeling Small Batch)
1 oz Cihuatan Indigo Aged Rum (Doorly's 12 Year)
1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/4 oz Lucano Café (Borghetti)
1/8 oz Green Chartreuse
1/8 oz Demerara Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist (include the twist). Two Sundays ago, I was perusing online recipe flashcards from The Violet Hour in Chicago, and I became enraptured with the Faithful Departed from their Fall 2022 menu. I have only had coffee liqueur and Green Chartreuse once before in the Jungle Madness, so I was curious to try it in a Manhattan format. The name refers to the Anglican and Catholic concept of deceased Christians who are waiting in purgatory to arrive in heaven. That definition made me think of Ted Kilgore's Purgatory especially with the straight spirits whiskey and Chartreuse overlap. In the glass, the Faithful Departed rose to the senses with a lemon oil and coffee bouquet. Next, roast and grape notes on the sip summoned rum, coffee, herbaceous, and clove flavors on the swallow.

night nurse

1 oz Aged Jamaican Rum (Appleton 8 Year)
1 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Campari
1/2 oz Overproof Jamaican Rum (Wray & Nephew)
1/4 oz Cynar
1 tsp Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
1 tsp Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Wednesdays ago, I was perusing my copy of the January/February 2026 issue of Imbibe Magazine when I spotted the Night Nurse by Robby Dow at Bespoke in Wilmington, North Carolina. Overall, it was akin to the Coffee Negroni with different rum origin plus touches of Cynar and banana liqueur. Once mixed, the Night Nurse gave forth an orange, banana, rum funk, and coffee aroma. Next, grape, caramel, and roast notes on the sip transferred into funky rum, herbal, coffee, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow with a coffee and banana finish.

transmigration

3/4 oz Goslings Black Seal Rum
3/4 oz Cruzan Black Strap Rum
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Mondays ago, I selected my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion from the shelf and spotted the Transmigration by Tom Lasher-Walker at Brooklyn's Fresh Kills circa 2017 via the book's Manhattan section. Transmigration is related to reincarnation as it is "the movement of a soul into another body after death," but the only thing that I could tie to mortuary themes here were all the dark hues in the ingredients.  Instead, the drink is probably named after the Milk & Honey drink called Migration that is equal parts of all the ingredients above save for no coffee liqueur. Overall, the recipe reminded me of a coffee-driven Palm Viper especially given the two rums, and the rum, coffee, sweet vermouth, and Cynar stylings appeared before in the Belafonte. Once mixed, the Transmigration gave forth orange, coffee, and molasses aromas to the nose. Next, grape, caramel, and roast notes on the sip shifted into dark rum, molasses, herbal, and coffee flavors on the swallow.

river styx

2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/4 oz Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1 dash St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (20 drop Hamilton's)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Wednesdays ago, I uncovered an intriguing drink in an online recipe flashcard set and was able to trace it back to a 2018 article in Imbibe Magazine. That drink was the River Styx created by David Kinsey in 2015 for the opening of Kindred in San Diego. It read very much like a coffee liqueur for Scotch Base Camp (which was created after this one), although the first recipe to pop in my head was The Sherpa given the Bourbon with allspice dram base (but orange liqueur instead of coffee and cacao). On David's Instagram, he explained, "The first proper Old Fashioned I had at a cocktail bar as the American Trilogy, the second: a Kentucky River [a combination of Bourbon, crème de cacao, and peach bitters that I mixed up pre-blog in March 2008 and that I ended up remaking two days after this]. The American Trilogy was what I pictured an old fashioned riff being: boozy, direct, showcasing the spirits with just a hint of citrus zest to perk up the taste buds. The Kentucky River caught me by surprise afterwards. It was heavy, but broke into sweet velvety ribbons that never tipped into the dreaded 'too sweet'." Once mixed, the River Styx flowed to the nose with a lemon, coffee, and allspice aroma. Next, a roast-drived sip cascaded into Bourbon, coffee, chocolate, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

king kopeika

1 oz Planteray OFTD Rum
1 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/2 oz Licor 43
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (6 drop St. George)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Tiki mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with freshly grated coffee bean and grated cinnamon. Two Saturdays ago, I became inspired by the Carajillo and the Carajillo Old Fashioned that I had two weeks prior. I soon thought about my mezcal Mr. Bali Hai (same as the classic but with the spirit change and some of the simple swapped for cinnamon syrup) and Smuggler's Cove's Expedition. Mezcal and OFTD rum paired well together in the Final Destination Zombie and my Lahaine Noon, so I went with my inclination to use them as the base. For a name, I dubbed this one King Kopeika after Hawaiian for espresso ("kope" for coffee and "ika" for strong). Once prepared, King Kopeika granted the nose a cinnamon and roasted coffee aroma. Next, roast, caramel, pineapple, and lemon notes on the sip decreed burly rum, smoky vegetal, coffee, vanilla, citrus, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

carajillo old fashioned

1 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
1 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Mr. Black)
1/4 oz Licor 43

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with 3 coffee beans. On Instagram, I noticed a few friends posting about two similar drinks called the Carajillo Old Fashioned. The Carajillo is a drink created in Spain that moved to Latin America, and it consists of espresso or coffee mixed with Licor 43 (or sometimes a coffee liqueur or spirit). The one I selected led to The Educated Barfly where host Leandro DiMonriva found it in The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book that attributed it to Sean O'Connor-Combes at J & Tony's Discount Cured Meats and Negroni Warehouse in San Diego in 2022. The other recipe floating around is one that Jordan Hughes, the High Proof Preacher, came up with in 2025 that uses reposado tequila, a little more Licor 43, and bitters, but I opted for the older recipe. While I have tried a Carajillo and a stirred espresso-laden variation before, the closest recipe to this on the blog is the Raining on 110th St. that is a rye Manhattan with accents of Licor 43 and coffee. In the glass, the 2022-era Carajillo Old Fashioned launched off with a coffee and vanilla bouquet. Next, a roast-driven sip landed on rye, brandy, vanilla, citrus, and bitter coffee flavors on the swallow.

el burladero

2 oz Spanish Brandy (Gran Duque d'Alba)
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/8 oz Cane Syrup (Sirop JM)
2 dash Chocolate Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist. Another recipe that I wanted to make with my sample bottle of Gran Duque d'Alba was a recipe on the Bartender's Choice app that called for Spanish brandy named El Burladero. The drink was created by Brandon Bramhall at Attaboy's Nashville branch in 2018, and a burladero is a wooden panel in a bullring near the wall to offer a safe space for bullfighters. Since coffee liqueur and Fernet have worked well in the Queen Village, Mount Makana, and Don't Flip Out, I was curious to see how it would modify a sherry-driven brandy. In the glass, El Burladero gave forth orange, sherry, coffee, and mint aromas. Next, grape and roast notes on the sip eluded brandy, nutty, coffee, menthol, and chocolate flavors on the swallow.

little black dress

1 1/2 oz Cihuatan Jade White Rum (Privateer Tres Aromatique)
3/4 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (El Maestro Sierra)
1/2 oz Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur
1/4 oz Lucano Caffe (Borghetti Espresso Liqueur)
1/8 oz Amaro Sfumato
1 peel Orange

Shake with ice, strain into a footed Collins glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Fridays ago, I was perusing sets of online recipe flashcards from The Violet Hour in Chicago, and the Little Black Dress from their Spring 2022 menu called out to me. Their Instagram had a photo post of the drink during that menu's time frame with the description, "We all know the classic Espresso Martini, but have you met the Little Black Dress? ⁠Rum pairs famously with its counterpart's coffee flavors layered in with Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur and Lucano Caffe⁠. The addition of PX sherry adds a unique nutty complexity for a flirty Violet Hour spin on everyone's favorite after dinner pick-me-up." Since coffee liqueur and Sfumato have been paired in drinks like the Oakland and Dark Matter, I was curious to see what it would be like when the coffee balance was greater than the amaro amount here. In the glass, the Little Black Dress twirled around with orange, roast, and raisin aromas. Next, roast and dark, rich grape notes on the sip welcomed rum, coffee, bitter espresso, raisin, and herbal flavors on the swallow.