utrecht-baden

1 oz Bols Genever
1 oz Aperol
1 oz Cinzano Sweet Vermouth
1 barspoon Fernet Branca
1 barspoon Mirto
2-3 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

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

The other drink I had at Estragon was the Utrecht-Baden. Bartender Sahil Mehta explained that he had created it for the Spanish Sip event back in August of 2011, and that the recipe was a riff on a Negroni. Utrecht and Baden were two treaties signed by the combatants in the War of the Spanish Succession and the treaties helped to maintain the European balance of power in the 18th century. The two treaties were signed in the Dutch city of Utrecht in 1713 and in the Swiss city of Baden in 1714. The Dutch aspect would certainly explain Sahil's use of Genever here.
The orange twist brightened up the Genever's malt aroma. The malt continued on into the sip where it mingled with the fruit notes of the Aperol and vermouth. The swallow was a combination of the Fernet Branca, Mirto, and the Bols Genever's botanicals. Indeed, the Aperol in conjunction with the Fernet and Mirto did give a similar impression as Campari.

south end sling

2 oz Cherry Heering (*)
1/2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Crema
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
1 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a Highball glass filled with fresh ice. Top with ~1 1/2 oz ginger beer. Garnish with a mint sprig and add a straw.
(*) Update 3/16/2015: I spotted in Sahil's notebook that he now makes this recipe as 4 equal 1 oz parts.

Two Mondays ago, Andrea and I headed over to the South End to dine at Estragon. For a first drink, bartender Sahil Mehta wanted to showcase a recipe that he had entered in the Heering Sling competition. When he mentioned that there was Fernet Branca in there, I immediately thought of how well that pairs with Cherry Heering such as in Misty Kalkofen's Darkness Til Dawn and in the classic Pinto. About a week later, Sahil sent me an email that this drink was selected as one of the ten finalists for the competition!
This homage to Estragon's neighborhood in Boston began with a mint and ginger aroma for me and a mint and cherry one for Andrea. The cherry and lime filled the sip; despite there being a large slug of Cherry Heering in the mix, the flavor balance did not suggest that. The spicy herbal swallow contained the ginger and Fernet notes with light smoke accents.

palmetto bug

1 1/2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida
3/4 oz Drambuie
1 1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass with a salt rim. Fill with ice cubes, top with 1 oz soda water, and add a straw.

As I was drinking my Newmarket Swizzle at the Hawthorne, Boston's Drambuie rep Tara showed up and sat next to us. She asked if she could treat Andrea and me to a Palmetto Bug. Tara traced the recipe to Sylvain in New Orleans where a bartender made a mezcal Paloma. Once back in Boston, Tara asked bartender Jen Harvey at Zócalo to tinker with it, and soon the Palmetto Bug was born. Hawthorne bartender Katie Emmerson soon set to work crafting three of these Highballs.
The mezcal's smokey agave notes mingled with the Drambuie's honey aroma on the nose. A crisp, carbonated sip contained the grapefruit and lime flavors. Next, the swallow was a combination of smoky mezcal and Drambuie's Scotch notes. Indeed, the mezcal-Drambuie combination worked well here as it has in Eastern Standard's Proclaimer and my Crush on a Bartender.

newmarket swizzle

2 oz Bully Boy White Rum
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Build in a Collins glass, fill with crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Garnish with 3-4 dashes Fee's Whiskey Barrel Bitters and add a straw.

After Island Creek Oyster Bar, we headed next door for drinks at the Hawthorne. There, bartender Dan Lynch greeted us and I requested a Newmarket Swizzle. The Swizzle was created by Katie Emmerson featuring Bully Boy's white rum, and the drink was named by Matt Schrage after the neighborhood that the Bully Boy Distillery resides, namely Newmarket Square in Boston.
The Fee's Whiskey Barrel Bitters garnish in conjunction with the cinnamon syrup contributed a very spiced aroma to the drink. The sip was full of lime notes with a hint of cinnamon, and the swallow began with rum and pineapple flavors followed by most of the cinnamon notes from the syrup.

wit haven

1 oz Barrel-aged Bols Genever
1 oz Kopke White Port
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Agave Nectar
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I visited Island Creek Oyster Bar. For a drink, I asked bartender Paul for the Wit Haven. The Wit Haven utilized the bottling of the Genever barrel that Jackson Cannon selected at the Bols distillery. Apparently, this is the first single-barrel bottling that Bols has done with the Genever, and the wealth is spread between the three bars that Jackson Cannon supervises.
The twist's lemon oil greeted the senses and prepared the mouth for a sweet lemon sip that contained soft white port flavors; as the drink warmed up a bit, the Genever's malt began to play a role in the sip. Much of the Genever flavors filled the swallow though that finished with a lemon note.

old hall

5/10 Nicholson's London Gin (1 2/3 oz Martin Miller Westbourne)
3/10 Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth (1 oz)
1/10 Pimm's No. 1 Cup (1/3 oz)
1/10 Rose's Lime Cordial (1/3 oz)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Saturdays ago, I was flipping through the Café Royal Cocktail Book and spotted the fruity curiosity of a Dry Martini called the Old Hall. To the base of that classic was a hint of Pimm's No. 1 and Rose's lime cordial.  Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I opened up my Rose's, but I was curious to give the aged bottle some use with this recipe; surprisingly, our decade old bottle of Rose's smelled as fresh as ever, so props to British naval ingenuity!
The lime cordial added to the gin's piney notes on the nose. The sweet-tart lime sip led into gin notes on the swallow that finished with the Pimm's fruit flavor. Overall, the Old Hall was an interesting cross of a Martini and a Gimlet.

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.

fratelli flip

1 oz Dewar's Blended Scotch
1 oz Averna
1 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1 barspoon Lemon Juice
2 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 Egg

Shake once without ice and once with ice. Double strain into a wineglass and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
The other drink I had at Lineage was the Fratelli Flip that bartender Brendan Pratt had created. Fratelli means "brothers" in Italian, and in the spirits world, it is often associated with amaro companies like Fernet, Campari, and Averna. The Flip began with a spiced nutmeg aroma that led into a thick, rich malt and caramel sip that had a hint of the lemon's brightness. Finally, the swallow offered up the Averna's herbal flavors followed by the Maraschino's nutty cherry.