shakedown street

2 oz Tequila (Fosforo)
1/2 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Agave Syrup
1 slice Cucumber

Muddle cucumber in syrup, add rest of ingredients, shake with ice, double strain into a cocktail glass (old fashioned glass with ice), and garnish with a cucumber slice. Two Tuesdays ago, I was looking through The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and spotted the Shakedown Street by Rhiannon Enlil. Since Rhiannon was our first Cure bartender back in 2009, I followed my hunch and opened up the Cure: New Orleans Drinks And How to Mix'em book. There, it described how Rhiannon riffed on one of Maks Pazuniak's drinks called the Deadhead that was got its name from being herbaceous enough that it "tasted like some hippie shit," and perhaps that is why she named this one after a Grateful Dead song. Rhiannon kept the ratio but changed things around. "Cucumber and Aperol want to be together; cucumber and tequila want to go together... it came together naturally." The drink stood out due to the cucumber and Aperol combination; I first learned about how the two can conjure up watermelon flavors in the 3185, and I observed it in other drinks like the Sunday Service and Ghost Hardware. Once prepared, the Shakedown Street proffered a cucumber and watermelon bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon and watermelon notes on the sip transitioned into tequila and orange flavors on the swallow. After I made the drink, I realized that I kept the serving style from The Madrusan Cocktail Companion without noticing that the Cure book calls for it to be strained into a coupe. 

skylarking

1 oz Rhum JM Gold Rhum Agricole (Clement VSOP)
1 oz Rhum JM Blanc Rhum Agricole (100°)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Don's Spices (3/8 oz Vanilla Syrup + 3/8 oz Hamilton's Allspice Dram)
1/4 oz Hibiscus Syrup
3 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (8 drop St. George)

Build in a Pearl Diver glass (Collins), fill with crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Top with crushed ice and garnish with mint sprigs and an orchid (ornamental pea blossoms). Two Saturdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for the Papaya Club at the Conrad in Orlando where I had found the Yellow Cloud, and I picked another of Paul McGee's creations, the Skylarking. That source provided the description, "This swizzle embodies all of the flavors found all around the Caribbean. Two rums made from fresh cane juice provide the backbone for this classic swizzle recipe with lots of warming spice and floral notes." I then found a photo on Scott French's Instagram in May 2025 that confimed the glassware and included the garnishes, although that drink was way more red in hue than mine. Given Paul's names many of his drinks after musical references such as the Music that Stays on for Extra Days, my guess is that he dubbed this after the 1986 album by the British indie rock group XTC. Once prepared, the Skylarking soared to the nose with mint over red fruit, floral, and grassy aromas. Next, lime and red fruit notes on the sip opened up into grassy rum, allspice, vanilla, clove, and anise flavors on the swallow.

savannah slammer

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Peach (Mathilde Peche Liqueur)
1/2 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 splash Steen's Syrup (1/8+ oz Demerara)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint and freshly grated cinnamon. Two Fridays prior, I decided to make the Savannah Slammer created at Good Company in St. Louis from their Spring 2025 menu that I had uncovered in a set of online recipe flashcards. This drink that still resides on their current menu reads like a Georgia Julep crossed with a Cynar Julep in a mint as a garnish-only Smash. Once assembled, the Savannah Slammer awoke the senses with a mint and cinnamon aromas over peach. Next, lemon with a vague orchard fruit note on the sip blossomed into Bourbon, peach, and funky herbal flavors on the swallow.

mojave punch

1 oz Dark Jamaican Rum such as Coruba (Coruba)
1 oz Silver Puerto Rican-style Rum (Hamilton White 'Stache)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice (3/4+ oz) (*)
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Juice
3/4 oz Hibiscus Syrup (**)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a pilsner (collins) glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a paper umbrella skewering a cherry.
(*) Even at a heavy 3/4 oz, the drink was still a bit sweet so perhaps 1 oz would be a good lime juice amount. Over perhaps 1/2 oz lime juice + 1/2 oz lemon juice to keep the acidity where I want it but with the remainder as a more neutral citrus juice.
(**) I did a hibiscus tea bag in 4 oz boiling water for 5 minutes. After removing the tea bag, I added an equal weight of sugar and stirred to dissolve. Two Fridays ago, I returned to the 2015 set of online recipe flashcards from the Tonga Hut in Los Angeles where I had found the Bermuda Dunes and selected the Mojave Punch. I was able to find photos of the drink at the Tonga Hut in blogs from 2017 and 2022 and multiple photos on Yelp. The recipe came across like a gussied up Hurricane with extra juices (the original Hurricane had fassionola syrup which some recipes include hibiscus); however, it also read a bit sweet so I upped the lime juice a bit (but perhaps not as much as I should have (see note above)). Once prepared, the Mojave Punch proffered a cherry, passion fruit, and floral bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel, lime, and orange notes on the sip shifted into funky rum, pineapple, passion fruit, and red berry-herbal flavors on the swallow. If you made a batch of hibiscus syrup, I recommend using some of the remainder on Aaron Butler's Koki'o Punch, Brick & Mortar's Velvet Rope, and my Red Skies at Night from Loyal Nine.

ink & fire

1 1/2 oz Tequila (Fosforo Blanco)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Agave Syrup
1/4 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
1/4 oz Aperol

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Two Tuesdays ago, I came across recipes from Riverbar in Somerville, MA, back when I worked there in 2018. From the Spring menu that I started off with, the Ink & Fire needed a revisit. Essentially the drink reads like a Tommy's Margarita with a hint of orange and chili pepper mixed in; Ancho Reyes and Aperol did work well together in the My Name Is Nobody. While there is a black metal band under that name, that group formed after the recipe was created; unfortunately, it obscures any web search-based attempt to figure out what the drink was named after. Once shaken and strained, the Ink & Fire opened up with an agave and a hint of dried fruit and pepper aroma on the nose. Next, lime notes on the sip evolved into tequila, orange, and roasted pepper spice on the swallow.

primavera

1 oz Espolon Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1 oz Pimm's No. 1
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Agave Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a snifter (double old fashioned) glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint sprig (or 3). Two Mondays prior, I came across online recipe flashcards for the Spring 2026 menu at The Old Pal in Athens, Georgia, and the seasonally-appropriate Primavera stood out. Their website displays this drink on the current menu along with a drawing of it. The combination of tequila and Pimm's appeared in two drinks including the Indian Summer, and I utilized it in the Blind Hen as a mashup of the Metexa and Pimmeron from the 1930s. Once built, the Primavera gave forth mint aromas over caramelized vegetal ones from the tequila. Next, lemon and caramel on the sip blossomed into aged agave, red berry, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

scorched earth

1 oz Del Maguel Mezcal Vida (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
1/4 oz Agave Syrup
2 dash Fee's Chocolate Bitters (Bittermens Mole)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a flamed orange twist (unflamed).When I got home a little after 1 am from my flights from Colorado Springs, I was tired but not sleepy. Therefore, I sought out a nightcap and selected the Scorched Earth from Ward 8 in Boston that reminded me of a Oaxacan Old Fashioned with roasted vegetal, dried fruit, and pepper spice notes from the Ancho Reyes in place of the neo-classic's aged tequila. The Classic Recipes Boston blog seemed to attribute this to Rob Haberek in 2015 and confirmed the recipe from my online flashcard source. Once prepared, the Scorched Earth gave forth an orange, vegetal, smoke, and dried fruit aroma. Next, roasted vegetable notes on the sip flowed into smoky, vegetal, spice, and dried date flavors on the swallow.

velvet rope

1 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac (Monnet VSOP)
1/2 oz Hibiscus Tea Syrup (*)
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain (coupe glass), and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.
(*) The drink was a touch sweet with the hibiscus as a 1:1 syrup. Perhaps making it as a 1:2 syrup, or even easier: adding 1/2 oz hibiscus tea plus 1/4 oz simple/demerara syrup would work.Another recipe that I had saved that utilized Amaro Nonino was the Velvet Rope at Brick & Mortar in Cambridge that I sourced from their ToastTab site months ago (I no longer see that webpage now). This rye-brandy Black Manhattan of sorts balanced the spirits with Amaro Nonino and a hibiscus syrup, and I was able to find a July 2017 menu photo on Yelp to get an approximate time frame; however, neither the recipe nor Yelp gave a clue as to what glassware was called for so I opted for a coupe which was more standard in those years (as opposed to old fashioned glass more common to the first year or two of the bar's existence). In the glass, the Velvet Rope let in a lemon and floral-herbal aroma. Next, a soft red berry and caramel sip witnessed rye, Cognac, caramel orange, and soft cranberry flavors on the swallow.

regent's punch

2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
2 oz Brewed Green Tea, Cooled (Choice Organics Japanese Green)
1/2 oz Lemon Cordial (*)

Build in an old fashioned glass, add a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon slice (omit garnish).
(*) Lemon cordial is a scaling of the following: the peel of 1 lemon in 1 oz sugar for 30+ minutes. Dissolve sugar in 1 oz lemon juice and strain.

One of the recipes that I had flagged in Nicola Nice's The Cocktail Parlor: How Women Brought the Cocktail Home was the Regent's Punch as adapted from Eliza Leslie's 1837 Domestic Cookery in Its Various Branches. That source recipe called for "any liquor suitable for punch" and Nicola opted for Bourbon. This recipe was a much more stripped down version of perhaps more authentic versions. David Wondrich in Punch provided a history tracing the original elaborate recipe back to perhaps a Prince of Wales, namely George Augustus Frederick. Getting at an bona fide recipe is challenging for many were recorded over the 19th century. William Terrington in the 1869 Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks listed arrack, brandy, Champagne, Maraschino, pineapple syrup, lemon and orange peels, sugar, and green tea, while Eliza Acton in the 1845 Modern Cookery for Private Families dropped the Maraschino and included Jamaican rum. Regardless, this simple version felt akin to the Zombie Essence that reduced the ten part drink from 1934 to five all while keeping the feel alive (or at least undead).Regardless, I am a sucker for green tea-containing punches such as Cold Ruby and G.M. Gurton's Punches, so I was game to give this one a go. In this cup, this punch proffered Bourbon and lemon oil aromas. Next, a lemony sip succeeded into Bourbon, tea, and lemon flavors on the swallow. Overall, rather pleasant, but I can see how gussying it up with additional flavors from the more extravagant recipes would prosper.

blackberry old fashioned

2 oz Wild Turkey 101° Bourbon
3/4 oz Blackberry Honey Sage Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large cube, and garnish with a sage leaf and blackberry on a pick.At Josephine, the management wanted to take the Fall-Winter appropriate Maple-Chestnut Old Fashioned off the menu and tasked me with coming up with something more Spring-Summer worthy. When I got the suggestion of blackberry, a flavor pairing matrix suggested sage. For a sweetener, honey has been underutilized at the bar, so I opted with that to give this complex syrup a third flavor component. No major tricks here in the concept or build, but the end result was a winner that guests ordered again and again in the same seating.

Blackberry Honey Sage Syrup
• 16 oz Honey (by weight)
• 8 oz Water (by weight)
• 12 leaf Sage (med-large leaves, or the equivalent of smaller ones)
• 8 oz Blackberries (by weight)
Add Honey and water in a pot (I weighed them in the pot to avoid loss in transfer).
Bring to a boil. Add sage leaves and continue on low heat for an hour. Let cool.
Remove sage leaves, pour into a blender with blackberries. Blend then strain. For a large batch, I would weigh out 3 parts honey-water-sage and add 1 part blackberry per blender load.

mirtillo fresco

1 1/2 oz Citadelle Gin
3/4 oz Blueberry-Black Tea Syrup (* see below)
1/2 oz Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass, and garnish with 3 blueberries on a pick.
Photo by IGer @cocktails_around_bostonAnother menu item I created at Josephine was the Mirtillo Fresco. I honed in on the blueberries that the kitchen had been buying for brunch. I soon considered the Italicus bergamot liqueur that was no longer being used in a cocktail menu item (it was still in the well for use in a spritz), and with that, my mind went to black tea to recreate the flavors of Earl Grey. The combination with gin and lemon juice required some bitters with Angostura providing some depth and Peychaud's bringing out an extra berry accent. The management rather liked the combination and they named it Mirtillo Fresco meaning "fresh blueberry" in Italian.

Blueberry-Black Tea Syrup
• Brew a strong batch of black tea with 1 teabag for every 4 oz of boiling water. Steep as directed (3-4 minutes).
• Add 3 parts blueberries by weight to 2 parts black tea (cooled) to a blender. Blend and fine strain.
• Weigh blueberry-black tea liquid after straining, add an equal weight of sugar, and whisk to dissolve.

flowers of st. francis

1 1/2 oz Citadelle Gin
1/2 oz St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Acidified Rosemary Syrup (*)
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Lemon Juice
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 oz Whole Milk

The above is for a single drink and scaled according to need. Combine all but the milk, add the milk, and gently stir. Strain through a coffee filter. Add the first third or so that passes through back into the filter but gently so as not to disturb the curd bed (I utilize a ladle). Repeat with the first third re-strain if it is not clear enough. Bottle and refrigerate. Serve over ice in a double old fashioned glass and garnish with a short sprig of rosemary.
(*) A 1:1 syrup with 1 gram citric acid per ounce (~3% or around half the strength of lemon juice). In a pinch, add an extra 1/4 oz lemon juice if not using acidified.At Josephine, we were in need of another clarified milk punch batch since my co-worker who started making them had left and their last bottle was just opened. I had made a few clarified milk punches back in 2010 right after Drink revived the style in Boston in 2009 with their Hibiscus White Rum Milk Punch; the two recipes that I created and recorded here were the Coffee Milk Punch and the Wu Wei Milk Punch. For a starting point, I looked in our restaurant's walk-in, and with it being winter, I was not inspired by what I saw. I then turned to the modern classics and a housemade syrup. I was inspired by Misty Kalkofen's Bohemian, Paul Clarke's Dunniette, Drink's Dejeuner, and how well rosemary, gin, and grapefruit combine. The Peychuad's Bitters from the Bohemian was my final addition when the combination of gin, elderflower, aperol, rosemary, grapefruit, and lemon still seemed a little flat, and that trick worked once again. Once I prepared a small batch, I showcased the result and got approval; for a name, I suggested a Fellini movie title, and this one became dubbed the Flowers of St. Francis.

Update 7/11/26: The drink I created in January 2024 is still on the menu in July 2026. It was originally critiqued as either too Spring or Summery by one manager, yet has lasted over 2 1/2 years through all the seasons without coming off the menu.

the five elements

3/4 oz Cognac (Du Peyrat Selection)
3/4 oz Batavia Arrack (von Oosten)
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Chinese Five Spice Syrup (*)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
(*) Chinese five spice syrup: 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup water. Heat the spices in a pan until they become fragrant. Add sugar and water, stir, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, let sit covered for 15 minutes, strain through a coffee filter, bottle, and refrigerate.After spotting Misty Kalkofen's Joe's Fashion that paired Punt e Mes with Chinese five spice syrup, I decided to tinker. I opted for the spirits mix from the Bombay Government Punch of Cognac and Batavia Arrack to make a drink split between ingredients from the East and the West. Since it felt very punch like, I dubbed this the Five Elements – partly because the recipe had that many ingredients but also because the word 'punch' may derive from the Hindi word 'panch' meaning five: spirit, citrus, sugar, spice, and water. Once prepared, the Five Elements greeted the nose with Cognac, apple, and cinnamon aromas. Next, lemon, honey, roast, and grape notes on the sip sailed into Cognac, dry funky Batavia Arrack, herbal, and spice including star anise flavors on the swallow.

electric kool-aid acid test

1 1/2 oz Peloton de la Muerte Mezcal
3/4 oz Amontillado Sherry
3/4 oz Strawberry Syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.For my second drink at Brick & Mortar, I asked bartender Nic Mansur for the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test named after Tom Wolfe's 1968 beat generation work of nonfiction. The ingredients reminded me of the Speaking in Tongues that they served me there as a modification of Mike Ryan's recipe at Sable given the overlap of mezcal, strawberry, and lemon. The presence of Amontillado also made me think of the many sherry drinks that I have had at Brick & Mortar over the years -- the blog indicates that 10 of the 73 drink entries previous to this visit contained some form of that fortified wine. In the glass, the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test proffered strawberry, vegetal, and smoke aromas to the senses. Next, a semi-dry lemon and grape sip tripped out into smoky agave, nutty grape, and berry flavors on the swallow.

daiquiri variation (daren swisher)

2 oz Bacardi Ocho Rum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Panela Syrup (*)
3 dash Coffee Cordial
10 drop Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.
(*) Panela is a raw sugar derived from evaporated cane juice (boiled but not centrifuged) popular in Latin America.Two Mondays ago, I attended the Daiquiri Dossier event at Shore Leave in Boston hosted by the Rum Reader. The site's Ben Schaffer acted as moderator to a panel of Kyisha Davenport of the BarNoirBoston hospitality collective, Ryan Lotz of Shore Leave and other spots in the Traveler Street Hospitality group, Nika Orlovsky of the Baldwin Bar, and Daren Swisher of Daiquiris & Daisies. The panel discussed what an ideal Daiquiri meant to them, what were the ranges of acceptable variations to still feel like a Daiquiri, and what was the ideal balance for each of them. There was also a mention of Boston's tie in with the Daiquiri including the Daiquiri Time Out (I did chime in with observations mentioned in that link where I interviewed DTO founder Andrew Dietz). Over the course of the discussion, seven different Daiquiris were served as composed by the panelists using the sponsors' rums. Three of these seven were rather classic combinations of rum, lime, and sugar of some sort, but the other four had other sweeteners, juices, or accents like bitters. My favorite of the bunch was the one crafted by Daren Swisher as a riff of the Captain's Blood; I was able to track the Captain's Blood back to the 1947 Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide as 1 1/2 oz Jamaican rum, 1/2 oz lime juice, 1 tsp Angostura Bitters. Here, Daren besides using Angostura Bitters utilized a darker sugar as well as touches of coffee cordial. This Daiquiri variation yielded caramel and coffee aromas. Next, caramel and lime notes on the sip sailed into rum, coffee, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

sokka's cactus juice

1 oz Ming River Baijiu (a strong aroma style)
1 oz Avua Cachaça Plata
3/4 oz Prickly Pear Syrup
1 oz Lime Juice

Short shake with ice, pour into a Collins glass with ice cubes and 3 oz Jans Sparkling Soursop Soda/Juice, and garnish with lemon and lime oil from a twist.At the Boston Baijiu Bar hosted at Backbar two Sundays ago, I selected from the Avatar-themed menu Sokke's Cactus Juice (subtitled with the element "Water"). Read yesterday's post to learn more about the class we took and the spirit itself; moreover, that post will describe why these two cocktails work in regards to matching baijiu's funky notes. Here, the Sokka's Cactus Juice crafted by bartender Nick Lappen greeted the senses with a lemon and lime oil aroma. Next, a carbonated and fruity sip transferred into a funky overripe fruit-flavored swallow.Andrea's drink choice from Nick's list was the Twinkletoes subtitled with the element "Air," and it featured a Campari cheese foam. This one proffered an orange and persimmon bouquet before leading into a creamy nectarine noted sip. Finally, Cognac, cinnamon, and funk flavors rounded out the swallow.

Twinkletoes
• 1 1/2 oz Vinn Baijiu (a rice aroma style)
• 1/2 oz Hine H Cognac
• 3/4 oz Persimmon Liqueur
• 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
• 1/2 oz Orgeat
• 1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
Shake with ice, and strain into a cocktail coupe. Top with a Campari cream cheese foam (cream cheese, milk, gum arabic as a stabilizer, sugar, Campari, and a NO₂ charger).

gentleman caller

1 oz Dry Gin (Bombay Dry)
1 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy
3/4 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Lacuesta Rojo)
1/4 oz Brown Sugar Syrup
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.After my bartending shift on Wednesday night two weeks prior, I opened up T. Cole Newton's Cocktail Dive Bar and found the Gentleman Caller created at 12 Mile Limit in New Orleans. With a split base of gin and apple brandy supported by sweet vermouth, it reminded me of a Yale Fence and the So-So. In the glass, the Gentleman Caller announced itself with an orange, apple, and grape aroma. Next, grape and caramel notes mingled on the sip, and the swallow offered up gin, apple, and brown sugar flavors with an anise finish.

bootlegger

2 oz Templeton Rye
1 bsp Luxardo Cherry Syrup (1/8 oz)
1 bsp Vanilla Gomme Syrup (1/8 oz Vanilla Syrup)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a cherry.Two Fridays ago, I was perusing the Hawthorne bar bible for a nightcap. There, I came upon the Bootlegger created by Nicole Lebedevitch perhaps sometime between the bar's open in 2011 and her departure to Lincoln and then Yvonne's in 2015 (although there is a chance that she created it at Eastern Standard before that time period). This Old Fashioned was dubbed "American gangster" on the menu which was a nod to Templeton Rye's marketing claims about its past, and it seemed to make good use of the syrup left over after dolling out Luxardo cherries for garnishes as she did with the Fino Swizzle. Here, the Bootlegger snuck a cherry, vanilla, and caramel aroma to the nose. Next, dark fruit and caramel notes on the sip hid behind Bourbon, cherry, vanilla, allspice, and clove flavors on the swallow.

humble pie

1 1/2 oz Angel's Envy Bourbon
1/2 oz Laird's Bonded Applejack
1/2 oz Remy Martin 1738 Cognac
1/2 oz Amaro Nardini
1 tsp Nutmeg Syrup
1/2 tsp Cinnamon Syrup
1 dash Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with lemon and orange oil from twists. Note: the recipe in the book has two dashes of absinthe.From Monday morning to Thursday afternoon two weeks prior, I was in Manhattan for the Angel's Envy regional meeting. One of our events was dinner at the Dead Rabbit on that Tuesday evening where they presented us a short menu of Bourbon drinks. The one I started with was the Humble Pie; after I acquired the recipe from the bartender and mentioned it to my teammate, he declared that it was in their second book, Mixology & Mayhem. Once home, I noted that the book attributed Jillian Vose for having crafted this number, and its recipe was the same save for the whiskey being a Tennessee rye as well as containing two dashes of Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe (either left off my hand-written recipe or not included for this event). While I did not take detailed tasting notes, I do recall it being in the ballpark of a Bourbon Old Fashioned with hints of something darker and fruitier in the works.

cigar box

2 oz Mezcal (Fidencio)
1/4 oz Lapsang Souchong Tea Syrup (*)
3 dash Scrappy's Lavender Bitters
3 dash Smoky Bitters (Crude's "Pooter" Smoke & Salt)

Build in a rocks glass, add ice, and stir. Garnish with an ignited cinnamon stick next to the drink.
(*) Strong 5 minute steep of tea mixed with an equal volume of sugar. Stir until dissolved.
Two Saturday nights ago, my phone died right before the cocktail hour which put me in a bit of a funk. So Sunday, I purchased a new cell phone and doubled up on the drinks to make up for the lost evening. The first drink that I made that evening was the Cigar Box from Brian Bartels' The United States of Cocktails. The recipe was crafted by Jason Lavenue of the Roosevelt Room in Austin, and it was originally made with tobacco bitters that the author replaced with a suggestion for bitters with a smoke element; my "Pooter" bitters from Crude was one of Bartels' recommendations. Once prepared, the Cigar Box gave forth a vegetal, smoke, and floral aroma to complement the dancing smoke trails from the smoldering cinnamon stick. Next, a roasted vegetal note on the sip led into mezcal and black tea on the swallow.