Quite the oddball, in a good way! Celery juice works well with jalapeno, maybe a bit heavy on the lime. Also I did a 1:1 reposado to Ancho Reyes Verde rather than infuse.

Excellent concoction which seems to blend the best-loved characteristics of a Mai Tai and a Hotel Nacional into a well-balanced drink. I used fresh squeezed pineapple juice, homemade orgeat and subbed Real Mccoy 12 year and Marie Brizzard Apry in my attempt. I also served it "up" (á la Hotel Nacionales) and found that it works just as well as a "fancy cocktail" as it does as a tiki drink. Great job!

Dial the Pastis down. Perhaps a rinse or a barspoon.

This particular combination from Death & Co., using the high rye (and over proof) bourbon Old Grand-Dad 114, is excellent, although I am sure it would work well with ~90-100 proof rye (maybe upping the volume a little to compensate, proof wise.) The Carpano Antica and Benedictine proportions are spot on to provide the herbal notes without being too sweet. From what I understand, Wondrich indicated the original 1936 recipe only called for 1/2 tsp (1/12 oz) of Benedictine, and Death and Co.'s 1/4 oz is an improvement on that. Difford and some others call for 1/2 oz which would likely push it too far.

I have curated to include the history, creator, year, location and status as an altered historical cocktail.