I had been thinking about Joaquin Simo's Sweet Valley High after having made one for a guest at Drink that week, and I decided to put my own spin on it by changing the liqueur and bitters and by adding a light touch of absinthe. To keep with Joaquin's name, I dubbed this one Dinosaurs Before Dark after another young adult book series.

While working at Drink in Boston one night, I had made a guest or two Phil Ward's Lipspin. Later, another guest requested a mezcal drink with bitter notes but with citrus, and I decided to convert the Lipspin into a Sour especially after recalling a comment on Kindred Cocktails where someone thought the drink could use some acid. Therefore, I reduced the two liqueurs from 3/4 to 1/2 oz, and since the Lipspin is pretty well balanced as a stirred drink, I countered the lime juice with simple syrup. When I got home, I tried out the recipe for myself and dubbed this Lipspin riff after the Echo & the Bunnymen song Lips Like Sugar.

Two Mondays ago, I wanted to utilize my new bottle of Bonal as well explore the combination of Cynar-sloe gin that I had first learned about in the Transatlantic Giant and the Lipspin. I had previously tinkered with mezcal in this combination and knew that the spirit complemented Bonal, and I recalled that applejack worked wonderfully with sloe gin in the Persephone as well as partnering with tequila and mezcal. For a name, I was listening to a Pandora radio station, and The Clash's Guns of Brixton was playing as I was making the drink. When I realized that sloe plums are grown in Brixton, the name stuck.

Watching Wyatt drift on into Tombstone to meet a young lady.