1. I found a bottle of Amaro Montenegro, something new to me. My first experiment with Montenegro.
2. In memory of a Naval Academy graduate.

In memory of a Naval Academy graduate.

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.

I was recently reminded of the Up Jumped the Devil and was inspired to riff on it. That drink featured the mezcal-rhum agricole combination that I was first introduced to in the Chantico and Wilhelm Scream at Craigie on Main, and I have used a few times. Instead of the Cynar-Green Chartreuse duo in the Up Jumped the Devil, I opted for the apricot-Benedictine one that I first noted in the Silk Road Sour and utilized in drinks like the Bedford Nest. For a name, I stayed with the original's Nick Cave concept and dubbed this one Stranger than Kindness.

In memory of a Naval Academy graduate.

I had an open bottle of Cocchi Americano and wanted to make something fun with it. I started by swapping out the specs for a Dale Degroff Bijou (green chartreuse for yellow, red vermouth for Cocchi) and thereafter upped the quantity of gin + Cocchi to give a bit more balance.