Bastard's Booze Blog Feed

TDN Anniversary

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:35:00 GMT

TDN Anniversary

Posted by John The Bastard on September 03, 2009

Today is the 1 year anniversary of Thursday Drink Night, and to celebrate, I wanted to revisit a drink I submitted to last years Tiki-themed TDN, the Winter in Tortola. This was a drink I liked and was proud of, but felt it needed perfecting. So, with that, I give you...

Fall in Tortola

¼		oz Pimento Dram (slightly less if using St. Elizabeth's)
½		oz Falurnum
½		oz J Wray & Nephew Overproof rum
1		oz Cruzan Blackstrap rum
1		oz Rhum Agricole
1½		oz grapefruit juice
5		dashes Amargo Chuncho Peruvian Bitters

Blend with ice and pour into large tiki mug or pint glass, top with ginger beer and big dollop spiced whipped cream. Stir to incorporate a bit of the cream. Dust with fresh nutmeg and a sprig of mint.

Spiced cream

1		cup whipping cream
1½		tsp ground cloves
¼		cup demerara sugar

Grind spice and sugar to a fine powder. Mix all ingredients in a chilled mixing bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate.

Pic coming!

Booze Blogging at SXSW

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Booze Blogging at SXSW

Posted by John The Bastard on August 18, 2009

Lindsey at Lush Life, a friend of mine and one of the most awesome people ever, has submitted a great proposal for a panel at next year's South By Southwest conference: Booze Blogging - Liquid Conversations. It passed the first round of selection, but now needs votes to happen. We both know you like booze, and you like blogs (observe: you are currently reading a booze blog), so your duty is clear: go vote for the panel. You'll need to sign in for your vote to count, but it only takes a minute and doesn't get you spammed. But don't stop there! Leave a supportive comment as well. The number of votes isn't publicly displayed, so the only way to draw attention to the all-consuming awesomeness of Lindsey's panel is to comment.

Once you've done that, if you aren't doing so already, follow Lindsey's twitter feed: @LiveTheLushLife. She'll keep you posted on the best booze writing on the web and fun chances to drink for free.

If you've done all that, come to SXSW! Amazing music! Awesome panels! Incredible films! It has it all, and I'll make sure you get some tasty cocktails.

Holy Hell: Saturday Morning Cocktails

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:15:00 GMT

Holy Hell: Saturday Morning Cocktails

Posted by John The Bastard on August 15, 2009

This fine Saturday morning, I found myself needing to put together a quick and dirty cocktail menu for an evening affair with friends (yes, I have some). I'll be mixing drinks after a heavy meal of ribeye and beer and want a variety of classics I can make with a small selection of ingredients and a minimum of citrus juicing, so I began paging through Haigh's newly-revised book. While fairly certain that I've made all the drinks from the original publication, I came to the Park Avenue Cocktail and couldn't recall any impression of it. With half a fresh pineapple in the fridge and a bottle of Grandma already on the counter, it was mere seconds before the drink was poured.

I don't know what I did the last time I made this drink, but it wasn't right. It is lovely, complex and delicious. Maybe not my first choice for starting the day, but absolutely something that will go into my standard rotation of drinks. Enjoy.

The Park Avenue Cocktail

2		oz gin
¾		oz pineapple juice
¾		oz sweet vermouth
⅓		oz Grand Marnier (or orange curaçao)

Shake and strain.

I recently discovered that I can buy Fentiman's Bitter Lemon soda in Eugene, and decided it was high time I made a proper Pimm's Cup. I've made various facsimiles with ginger ale, ginger beer, and even Sprite (PROTIP: don't), but have not previously had the Pimm's #1, bitter soda, and english cucumber in the same place at the same time. So I made one, and... its better. As in, light, refreshing, and marginally better than the bitter soda by itself. But I'm fairly certain that if I am ever in a situation where I could order a Pimm's Cup, I could find something else on the menu much more interesting. If you love it, more power to you. Its not really for me.

Now, if there is anything I've learned about cocktails prior to 10AM, its that bitter is better. So, facing the second half of a bottle of Fentiman's, I felt it was time to make up for lost time. Thus we have the Better Bitter, and it is glorious.

The Better Bitter

1		oz Campari
¾		oz fresh grapefruit juice
2		dashes Peychaud's Bitters

Build over ice, top with bitter lemon soda, and stir.

Mixology Monday: Vodka, your enemy

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Mixology Monday: Vodka, your enemy

Posted by John The Bastard on August 11, 2009

Anyone who has spent any time drinking with me knows I hate vodka. A lot. Nothing has changed. I firmly believe that if there is a good drink made with vodka (I know, thats a big "if"), there is a better drink to be made by simply using a different white spirit. Here are a few of my favorite substitutions.

The White Cuban

2		oz white rum
1		oz coffee liqueur
1		oz cream

Havana Club if you can get it, or another Cuban style rum like Matusalem, keeps to the communist imagery. Kahlúa is fine if its what you've got, as this remains a drink that without much complexity, but I prefer something homemade or Patrón XO Café.

The Jamaican Mule

1 ½		oz J. Wray & Nephew Overproof rum
3/4		oz fresh lime juice, plus shell
4		oz ginger beer

Of all the "classic" cocktails, the Moscow Mule has always been the most disappointing to me. When I want a drink that tastes like ginger beer, I just drink a ginger beer. This mule has a decidedly stronger kick.

The Metropolitan

1 ½		oz London dry gin
1		oz Cointreau
½		oz lime juice, plus wheel for garnish
1		tsp cranberry juice

As I've mentioned before, the term "cosmopolitan" derives from the Russian kosmopolit, a derogatory epithet implying a lack of cultural affiliation, whereas a metropolis is a city of global cultural significance. Simply put, gin is cultured, vodka is not.

Fully Automatic Shot Pouring Action!

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Fully Automatic Shot Pouring Action!

Posted by John The Bastard on August 04, 2009

I was recently at the thrift store, scrounging for glassware and something to wear to this year's Tiki Kon, and came across a new toy: the Fully Automatic Auto-Jigger, which sounds more like Quake weapon than a bar tool. However, it was 2 bucks and appeared to be new in its box, which seems to date back to the 60s or 70s. For the visually impaired, it consists of a hollow copper sphere with a spout on one side and a cork on the other.

So what does the Auto-Jigger do? Well, friends, it mostly pours 1 ounce shots. 'Mostly' because the first shot poured came closer to 1.25 ounces, which was somewhat discouraging, but subsequent pours were quite accurate. This could be useful if, for instance, you worked in a bar that only served drinks made of ingredients mixed in equal parts, and you did't mind saturn-shaped balls on top of all your bottles. There is about a 2 second lag while waiting for the spherical reservoir to fill before any liquid flows out of the spout, and another two seconds for it to actually empty into your shaker, giving you a speedy 4 second pour. A mere 12 seconds of pouring will give you the 3 ounces of gin you need for a Martini. If, however, you need 2.5 ounces of Bourbon for your Manhattan, you're pretty much fucked. Please be aware that when you pull the Auto-Jigger from your Bourbon bottle so you can make a Manhattan, about half an ounce of liquid will spill out the bottom onto the counter.

No, the Auto-Jigger cannot be disassembled for cleaning.

I have no idea why this did not go on to become a successful and well-loved commercial product.

Mixology Monday XL: Ginger

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Mixology Monday XL: Ginger

Posted by John The Bastard on June 12, 2009

The ever-dastardly, pugnacious, and all-around awesome guy, Rumdood, is hosting this month’s Mixology Monday theme: Ginger. This is conveniently timed for my first MxMo post, as I just recently acquired my first bottle of Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, which, despite the glorious praises heaped upon it by booze pundits everywhere, is somewhat hard to find in Oregon.

Given the aforementioned glut of verbiage about this particular spirit, I’ll limit my thoughts on the matter to a few words: its good, not amazing. It tastes pretty much like you would expect a ginger liqueur to taste. However, one stroke of brilliance that I believe abetted Canton’s rise to bibulous stardom is that it closely matches the level of sweetness in the ubiquitous Cointreau (as opposed to the much sweeter Grand Marnier). Consequently, you can substitute the Canton for Cointreau in any of your favorite cocktails and have a variation on an old favorite without having to worry about balancing the drink. With that in mind, for this MxMo, I’ll revisit a few of my standards using the ginger liqueur. Despite its GNS base and an absurd price tag, Cointreau has maintained a dominance in the the orange liqueur realm because its competitors, excellent though they may be, simply don’t have the same versatility. I hope to see whether the Canton fairs as well.

Brandy Crustacean

1½		oz brandy (Hardy Cognac Napoleon)
¼		oz Domaine de Canton
¼		oz maraschino (Luxardo)
¼		oz lemon juice
1		dash Angostura bitters

Shake and strain.

Where is the ginger? I have no idea, but the orange found in the Brandy Crusta is definitely missed. Sadly, this one doesn’t hold a candle to the original.

Margaret & Rita

½		oz blanco tequila (Inocente)
1		oz Domaine de Canton
½		oz lime juice

Shake and strain.

Here we revisit my favorite margarita from the recent Cinco de Mayo post. The Canton’s ginger-heat pokes through, though the vanilla and honey notes are lost in the lime’s sourness. Thankfully, all of the lovely effects from the Inocente remain. Quite good, but no substitute for the original. Three and a half fingers up.

Corpse Reviver v2.1β

1		oz gin (Citadelle)
1		oz Lillet Blanc
1		oz Domaine de Canton
1		oz lemon juice
1		dash absinthe (Kübler)

Shake and strain.

The hallmark of the Corpse Reviver #2 is that each of the ingredients can be picked out, in sequence, as the drink washes over your palette. First the sweet orange liqueur, then the sour from the lemon, the slight bitterness of the Lillet’s quanine, and finally a flourish of anise and gin botanicals that you smell more than you taste. Here, we get a hint of vanilla instead of orange on the front palette and can add the aroma of ginger to the overall bouquet. I don’t prefer this to the original, but its definitely a nice variant.

Overall, Domaine de Canton is a nice liqueur to have on hand, though its a bit more delicate than I would like. Despite its brandy base, it seems to stand up a little better in cleaner, lighter spirits like gin and the triple-distilled Inocente than it does the fussier cognac you find in the brandy crusta. I'm satisfied with the purchase but leave it to the reader to decide whether the product lives up to its hype.

Cilantro-Bacon Julep

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:35:00 GMT

Cilantro-Bacon Julep

Posted by John The Bastard on June 11, 2009

I was working on a drink for tonight's muddling-themed TDN and came up with something I liked so well I wanted to make a post about it. I've been working on various techniques and recipes for bourbon-infused bacon for an upcoming post, and decided to make that the basis of a drink. Here it is:

The Cilantro-Bacon Julep

3		oz bacon-infused bourbon
1		dash Fee's Whiskey Barrel-aged bitters
1		dash Angostura bitters
2-3		sprigs cilantro
2		Tbs brown sugar

Pinch off leaves from the cilantro stems and muddle with the brown sugar and bitters. Add the bacon bourbon and stir. Set aside to infuse. In the meantime, crush some ice and pack into a copper mug or julep cup. Strain the infused bourbon over the ice. Garnish with a flourish of cilantro and a fresh strawberry.

The 5th of May

Mon, 04 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The 5th of May

Posted by John The Bastard on May 04, 2009

Tomorrow, the residents of one particular state in Mexico will be celebrating the 137th anniversary of an unlikely defeat of French forces which effectively freed their ancestors from the paying of debts incurred by a collapsed previous government. As a rare act of solidarity and reverence for our southern neighbors, we gringos will grill up some carne asada and get totally shit-faced on Margaritas.

Now, far be it from the Bastard to disparage a socially accepted opportunity to drink to excess simply because the typical celebrants’ motivations are likely uninformed, misguided, or even overtly hypocritical. If God gave us drinking holidays, who am I to argue? But that said, the Margarita has never really been my drink. If I’m in the mood for something sour, I’ll generally throw together a Corpse Reviver #2 or a Daiquiri. But, as they say, when in Rome, embrace the heather swine’s sickening depravity. Or something like that. Which brings us to our next subject:

The Frozen Marg

Blended, a.k.a. frozen, Margaritas are beverages that booze snobs love to hate. Some Sauza (“tequila” quote-unquote) and sour mix diluted with water: what’s not to hate? But this is snobbery the Bastard just cannot get behind. Let there be no misunderstanding, I am constantly seeking out new and exciting opportunities to condescend and belittle those around me; but the frozen marg is just not the time. When you’re hanging with a crowd in your friend’s back yard to nom-nom on a plate of brisket, the mercury is sitting nigh 90°, and said friend has just juiced up his Margaritaville and handed you a stemmed punchbowl of green slush, you could be like, “Sorry, I don’t drink mixto.” But the next phase of the discussion would be about the relative merits of your remaining options: budweiser and tap water. You know this, so you gratefully accept the punch bowl.

Is it amazing? Is it sublime? Hell no. It tastes like a goddamn lime Slurpee. But you like Slurpees, this one will get you drunk off your ass, and did I mention its 90 fucking degrees? You drink the Slurpee and save your pretense for another day. Everything, it seems, has its place; even blended Margaritas.

The Un-frozen Marg

But can we do better? If we upgrade the tequila, jettison the sour mix, and put some cultural distance between ourselves and Jimmy Buffett, do we end up with something a cocktailian can be proud of? I have heard so, but reflecting on my past encounters with mixed Margaritas, I can think of none that have been more than marginal improvements of the frozen variety. For a while now, I have had a growing skepticism of the Margarita in general, so I am calling into question all the received conventional wisdom about the drink. Are top-shelf ingredients really wasted on the drink? Is the subtlety of a fancy platino simply unable to stand up to the lime and Cointreau? Having received a veritable bevy of white tequilas of late, yours truly has set out to discover for himself what makes a good Margarita, or if such a thing even exists.

There are a lot of potential variables in any cocktail recipe, but there are a couple things I know from past experience. First, the ideal recipe consists of a 3:2:1 ratio of blanco tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice. This is a preference shared with Robert Hess and Gary Regan, so the Bastard is in good company. A good reposado can work, but I am typically more interested in tasting tequila than barrel in my Margarita, so save your aged tequilas for snifters.

Also, though without Jay Hepburn’s ferocity, I’ve sampled and mixed a decent selection of orange liqueurs, and found none that merited displacing Grand Marnier or Cointreau from my liquor cabinet (with the latter as my preference for Margaritas). However, I recently received two fifths of Hiram Walker triple-sec along with a mini of Cointreau and a challenge to try them side-by-side, not with the expectation that I would like the HW better, but just that it would compare favorably given the cost savings. I’ve had a few HW liqueurs in the past, and have never been much of a fan, but for all my cynicism I had to admit I was impressed by that level of honesty from the marketing department. It's a virtue that deserves to be rewarded, and they make a good point: when the economy sucks, you want to make your dollars count, especially where luxury items are concerned. So just this once, Hiram-Walker will get some blog space. Now, let’s meet the contestants.

Neat Tastings

Before we get to mixing, I want to establish some first impressions of the ingredients we’ll be using. I’ll save full-blown reviews for those who actually consume tequila on a regular basis. These are just my own tasting notes.

Hiram Walker Triple-sec

Simple and orangey. Take a valencia orange and zest it. You smell that? Thats what this liqueur tastes like. Nothing complex or particularly interesting, but nothing unpleasant, either. At 120 proof, the HW is quite potent, but the grain spirit base was apparently well filtered, as there isn’t the burn or nastiness you expect from cheap alcohol.

Cointreau

This is a different creature entirely. Both the sweetness and the alcohol are reduced in comparison to the cheaper triple-sec, and are replaced with a rich, spicy citrus bouquet. This is complemented with notes of honey, nutmeg, and crème brûlée. At this stage, the old adage appears to be true: you get what you pay for.

Lunazul Blanco Tequila

This is my standard tequila I keep on hand for mixing. It isn’t amazing, or memorable, but it's made from 100% agave, and at $17 for a fifth, it beats the crap out of the more popular mixtos sold at the same price point. The flavor is grassy and peppery, as you expect a tequila to be, but without much more than that.

Jose Cuervo Especial Tequila Plata

I’m no fan of the various Cuervo tequilas I’ve tasted in the past, but the ubiquity of the brand makes it a baseline for comparison, albeit a nasty one. This particular tequila is a new product presumably released to capitalize on the current obsession with white tequilas. It tastes like tequila-flavored vodka. My guess is that either the amount of actual agave is very low, or the product is filtered all to hell after the distillation. It smells like tequila, and at first hits with a blunt grassiness, but there is absolutely nothing on the mid-palette and it finishes with a rather harsh alcohol burn and an unwelcome, lingering, bitter aftertaste not unlike warm beer. Steer clear of this one.

Inocente Platinum Tequila

When I first received this sample, I was pretty skeptical. Fancy recycled-glass bottles, an annoying flash-based website, a limited New York-only release, and no aged offerings whatsoever: Inocente has all the trappings of the East Village hipster demographic. Upon tasting, however, I realized I had judged too quickly. This is a truly excellent spirit, even if it does seem to stretch the definition of tequila a bit. The grassy notes are still present in the nose, but quite mild on the palette, and alcohol burn is almost entirely absent. This is probably a result of the third distillation Inocente employs. What befuddles me is how so many other flavors survived the distillation process. It is extremely fruity, with notes of apples, mangos, and bananas. The limited availability of this tequila is rather tragic. Its my new favorite.

Tequila Ocho 2008 Single Estate Plata

Ocho, to me, seems like the most honest tequila of the lot: a high quality, single estate production; a simple, elegant bottle, signed, numbered, and dated; and no promise whatsoever that the tequila they make next year will taste like the one you bought this year. It has a distinct personality, which you will probably either love or hate. There are hints of vanilla in the nose, and a pungent, smokey flavor. It burns a lot more that I expect from a $50 spirit. It is a tequila through and through, but is oddly reminiscent of scotch (specifically, Laphroaig).

Lessons Learned

I did not try every possible permutation of tequila and liqueur, and you would not want to read about it if I had, but I tried enough of them to confirm what I began to expect early on: bad tequila makes bad Margaritas and there is no cheap substitute for Cointreau. Everything nasty about Cuervo remained nasty when mixed with lime and triple-sec, and even Cointreau couldn’t redeem it. The extra alcohol in the Hiram Walker was largely unwelcome. It knocks the drink out of balance, and the the orangey flavor didn’t magically become more interesting in the context of other ingredients.

That said, I did make a couple blended Margaritas, just for the hell of it, and learned a few things there. Its no surprise that Hiram Walker and lime makes for a better drink than sour mix, but it was news to me that it actually worked better than Cointreau. Fancy booze in a frozen Margarita just ends up tasting watered down. The sugary, high-proof triple-sec stood up to the melting ice much better, and upping the ratio to 4:2:1 helped as well. When you’re buddy wants to make a couple gallons of frozen margs, bring a handle of Lunazul and the Hiram Walker. It makes for a decent drink.

Now, on to the exciting part.

Repentance

So as it turns out, the Margarita may be my sort of drink after all. Everything I've ever been told about premium tequilas, Margaritas, and the latter being a waste of the former is a huge fucking lie. The Margarita truly can be both amazing and sublime.

Our runner-up, Tequila Ocho, makes for an interesting mixed drink: woody and smokey. These qualities are probably not what the typical Margarita drinker is looking for, and on most days I’m not either, but I did enjoy it and will probably give it another go from time to time. Save this for your more adventurous guests and tequila aficionados. For those who claim not to like tequila, don’t use this drink to try to change their mind.

An Inocente Margarita, however, is a devine gift that every human should have the chance to sample at least once in his life. The subtle fruitiness of the tequila blossoms into a complex array of flavors I can’t find adequate description for. This is the Margarita’s raison d’être, and the sort of rare discovery that makes the cocktail craft worthwhile.

Conclusion

The unfortunate truth is that few of us are likely to order a $600 case of tequila from New York for our Cinco de Mayo party. Save that Margarita for less crowded occasion. But the take-home message is that, sadly, there are no short-cuts to fantastic cocktails. If you want to make Margaritas you can be proud of, you'll need to buy the best ingredients you can reasonably afford, or invite fewer friends. (Keep in mind that there are plenty of expensive tequilas that taste terrible. Try to find a mini of any high-end spirit you want to taste before you blow a $50 on it.) If you just want something cold, sour, and alcoholic from the Margarita machine, then quality isn't quite as important. But for god sakes, no matter what other concessions you make, never ever buy sour mix. There is no cheaper or easier way to improve a cocktail than fresh juice.

And We're Back

Sun, 03 May 2009 15:00:00 GMT

And We're Back

Posted by John The Bastard on May 03, 2009

Apologies for the dead air. Preparations for the beta launch of a product for my "real job" has consumed an unhealthy portion of my life in recent weeks, but there I have half a dozen or so articles that I am currently working on. I plan to post some new content here and at the Mixoloseum blog fairly frequently, at least for a while, to make up for the lost time. A post for Cinco de Mayo will go up in a few hours. Thanks for sticking around!

P.S. I have a new camera coming, but it hasn't arrived yet. Photography may be added ex post facto in some cases.

Apertivo Cynar

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:25:00 GMT

Apertivo Cynar

Posted by John The Bastard on March 15, 2009

Cynar (the correct pronunciation lies somewhere between chee-nar and shee-nar) is a bitter apéritif of Italian origin, akin to Campari and Aperol. (As it so happens, Gruppo Campari acquired Bols’ Italian holdings in 1995, and now owns all three of the apéritifs, as well as others.) The claim is that the beverage is made with “13 herbs and plants,” but no one seems to know, or care, what the first twelve are. All of the corporate branding relishes in the drink’s use of artichoke as an ingredient, from the picture on the label to the eponymous reference of the plant’s taxonomical name, cynara scolymus.

Somewhat confusingly, there are actually two products called Cynar (with near-identical labels) on the market: the ricetta originale (original recipe) and a newer reformulation. My first experience of the artichoke liqueur was with the reformulated version. Upon learning of the original, my expectation was that it would be drier and more bitter, but surprisingly, the products have about the same level of sweetness and bitterness.

When sipping Cynar neat (in either of the incarnations), it first hits your tongue with a taste reminiscent of a lychee fruit, if you have ever bitten into one to break it open and caught the bitterness of peel along with the syrupy flavor of fruit’s flesh. That might not sound terribly appealing, but the apéritif is actually only about as bitter as its fluorescent cousin, Aperol, and makes for a surprisingly versatile cocktail ingredient. Using it as a substitution in any drink that calls for Campari or Aperol usually yields gratifying results.

Beyond the initial impression of lychee, the flavor profile takes on a more herbal, vegetal character. Oddly, there are times when I am able to detect the artichoke’s contribution, but at other times it seems to disappear entirely. (I have no explanation for this phenomenon.) The original recipe has a slight nuttiness not present in the sequel. Unlike Lillet, Amer Picon, or the various other ingredients that have seen shifts in formulation over the years, Cynar doesn’t have a bevy of classic cocktails dependent upon the original profile, so don’t fret too much if you are only able to find the newer one. Both versions are excellent products, and I have no strong preference for one over the other. If you find you like one version, you will probably enjoy the other as well, and may even find it worthwhile to stock them both. That said, I’ve never found the old and the new in the same store, or for that matter, in the same city. I am not sure if this is some consequence of our country’s rather Byzantine liquor distribution system, or simple misfortune. Either way, happy hunting.

The cynaceous liqueur still sees most of its consumption in Europe, where it is typically served over ice, with soda and lemon, or mixed with beer. It was popularized in the ‘60s by a series of commercials produced by the relatively well-known (in Italy) director, Ernesto Calindri. For better or worse, one of the more popular of those TV spots was given a “modern” remake in 2007. (If you don’t have a high tolerance for camp, skip to the drinks.)

The Choke Hold

¾		oz Cynar
¾		oz lemon juice
4		oz hard apple (or pear) cider

Build in a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.

I’ve mentioned this drink in the past, but its still one of my favorite creations, so here it is again. I typically use Spire Mountain cider, which is ubiquitous in the northwest. It is relatively sweet, so if you use something a bit drier you might want to add a bit of simple syrup. I somewhat of prefer the newer Cynar in this drink.

Cygroni

1		oz Gin
1		oz Lillet Blanc
1		oz Cynar
1		dash lemon juice

Shake and strain into an iced rocks glass with a lemon twist.

This is my variation on the Negroni. By changing our apéritif, we lose some bitterness, but we can augment it with the quinine from the Lillet.

The Gasper

1		oz Cachaça (using Boca Loca)
½		oz Cynar
½		oz Fino Sherry (using Bodegas Dios Baco)
1		dash Amargo Chuncho bitters

Shake and strain into a small cocktail glass.

Here is my reinterpretation of a little known cocktail called the Choke Artist. I think the nuttiness of the ricetta originale complements the sherry well. (My Peruvian bitters just arrived and I couldn’t resist using them here. Substitute your choice of aromatic bitters as needed.)

Cross-posted from the Mixoloseum.