A little Young Frankenstein addendum:

At the show’s conclusion I was thoughtfully given a gift by one of my friends and castmates who played the Blind Hermit (famously portrayed by Gene Hackman in the film) along with a card issuing a fun challenge, asking me to construct a cocktail specifically inspired by the Blind Hermit character. The gift contained a few ingredients and bottles from another cocktail, which was basically half Frangelico and half Iced Cake Vodka with nutmeg on top. I kept the Frangelico and nutmeg (sorry, the Iced Cake Vodka tasted exactly like it sounds — yummy if you were wanting to drink cake, I’m sure) and came up with the following.

Blind Hermit

• 2.0 oz. Old Monk Rum
• 1.0 oz. Frangelico
• 0.5 oz. Dry Oloroso Sherry
• 1 barspoon cinnamon syrup
• 1 barspoon Green Chartreuse
• 2 dashes coffee bitters

Stir and strain into coupe over rum soaked raisins (raisins cooked in dark rum, cinnamon and allspice).
Garnish with fresh toasted nutmeg.

Keeping the monk theme (close to a hermit, I guess) presented by the Frangelico bottle, I started with one of my favorites, the spicy Indian rum Old Monk. To this I added the healthy dose of the hazelnut Frangelico and some dry, nutty sherry to open the drink up more. I wanted some Young Frankenstein influence, so added the cinnamon for a bit of “fire” and a little Green Chartreuse for the monster himself. The coffee bitters helped temper the sweetness, and were added, of course, because the hermit was “going to make espresso!”

All of this went into a coupe over rum soaked raisins — raisins were also included in the gift as an ingredient and I thought they made an interesting garnish. The nutmeg was also part of the original cocktail I was riffing on, so I ended with that, but first used a torch to toast it. Just watch that you don’t light your thumb.