Attempting to recreate a wonderful cocktail from a recent outing to a local imbibery. The original featured tobacco bitters and madeira. Without those ingredients at home, I replaced the tobacco bitters with a dash each of Angostura and black walnut bitters, and the madeira with a half measure of Carpano Antica. Proportions of the original were unknown, but 2:1:1/4 felt right for this split-base, Manhattan/Boulevardier offshoot.

This cocktail was borne out of scarcity. I had a bunch of bottles with dregs in them, but I wanted a negroni. Turns out, splitting the elements made for a very interesting drink. I didn't split the base and I'm glad because the funk of the S&C stood up well to what was going on with the sweets. FWIW, it seemed to improve with a little time to sit. Or maybe that was just my mood.

Muzetta's Waltz is my La Boheme themed riff on The Bohemian cocktail, which I believe was created in the early 2000s.

We used Maker’s Mark.

Riff on the Trainspotter, with a Japanese twist. (Shinkansen is the Japanese name for the bullet train.)

After I served a guest at work a pineapple rum-Scotch Sazerac as a follow up to a rye-Cognac one, that combination got me thinking of Pedro Ximenez-Amer Picon drinks that I made from the Pioneers of Mixing from Elite Bars: 1903-1933 book such as the Reiff. Once at home, I used the New York City-favored Amaro Ciociaro instead of Picon since Pedro Ximenez sherry-sweetened Old Fashioned riffs such as the McKittrick and Second Marriage are also popular there. I dubbed this the Red Legs after Red Legs Greaves, a Scottish pirate active in the Caribbean during the late 17th century, to capture the Scottish and tropical vibes in the drink.