Nude Descending a Staircase
Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist.
Original was 1 1/4 oz rye and no syrup, but I began making it as posted above for guests at Drink in Boston.
I was inspired by the combination in Amor y Amargo's Cubist (aquavit, Suze, dry vermouth, olive bitters) to extract the aquavit-Suze duo. To the aquavit, I recalled how well it paired with rye whiskey in several recipes. I considered adding an aromatized wine to the mix, but I opted to keep this in the style of an Old Fashioned for simplicity's sake. As for a name, I recalled the painting Nude Descending a Staircase as being sort of Cubist. Indeed, Marcel Duchamp's 1912 work was first labeled as Cubist before being rejected by the art movement as being too Futuristic.
- Although I'm normally a big fan of the Xocolatl Mole bitters, not sure if they play well here. Might try Boker's next time. Aside from that, very nice!
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- Water Line — Rye, Aquavit, Cynar, Triple sec, Bitters, Orange peel
- Staggerly — Rye, Aquavit, Amaro Nardini, Orange peel
- Boonekamp Cocktail — Rye, Underberg bitters, Simple syrup, Lemon peel
- Evil Dead — Rye, Aquavit, Bitters, Orange bitters, Rosemary syrup, Maple syrup