At Drink, I had a guest who wanted yet another Whiskey Sour, so I decided to improvise. I decided to start with the Lion's Tail but use lemon instead of lime. Moreover, I combined it with the concept of Don's Spices #2 of allspice dram and vanilla syrup since vanilla as well as the spice duo work great with Bourbon. For a name, I wanted to keep "Lion's" in it and ended up dubbing it the Lion's Share when I made it for myself when I got home. The vanilla ends up bringing out an aged elegance from the whiskey, and the allspice and bitters are more of an accent than a driving force here (especially with the lemon for lime swap).

Crafted for George Dickel x Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend Rye whiskey.

After many attempts trying to use leftover Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey in a Manhattan-inspired cocktail, Mr. Peanuthead was born.

Surface Warriors know about the DRT.

One of the drinks that I serve to guests at Drink called the Gilda has become popular enough that other bartenders picked up on it and began offering it too. The Gilda was created at Death & Co. in New York and is a great combination of blanco tequila, pineapple, lime, and cinnamon, and when someone requested a drink something like a Paloma one night, I decided to mash up that classic with that delightful combination. Soon the name "Gilda Paloma" morphed into "Gilded Paloma."

A guest at Drink wanted an Old Fashioned but fruity, and I decided to take things in a tropical bend instead of going an apple brandy and grenadine direction. To a base of Plantation's pineapple rum, I sweetened things with Don's Spices #2 (vanilla syrup and allspice dram) and passion fruit syrup and used a bitters trinity of Angostura, mole, and absinthe. Since the volume was a quarter ounce shy of 3 ounces, I supplemented it with a splash of Plantation OFTD Rum to round out the mix. That guest and the two guests that I made it for later that evening enjoyed it so much that I made it for myself once I got home. For a name, I dubbed it the Pickwick Club after the social venue in the Charles Dicken's novel that inspired the rum's creation in the first place.