En Garde
- 1.0 oz. bonded rye (Rittenhouse)
- 1.0 oz. Art in the Age Snap
- 0.5 oz. Punt e Mes
- 0.25 oz. Leopold Bros. Michigan Tart Cherry
- 0.25 oz. Benedictine
- dash of Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Bitters
Stir with ice and strain into glass. Garnish with cherry.
I love Art in the Age’s offerings just for their unique flavors. However, I sometimes have their bottles linger on my shelf since I find they can easily take over any cocktail (that was certainly the case with Root). And so as much as I enjoyed the cinnamon-ginger-vanilla bite of the liqueur (which does weigh in at 80 proof) I didn’t mix with it often.
So came this cocktail, which I made to see how I could harness Snap (and maybe clear some space on my shelf). The rye is a strong partner here. Make sure to use 100 proof or more. To that I added the vermouth for additional sweetness and some bitterness, then the Leopold Bros. added some sweet acidity. Benedictine grounded the drink for me and tied in to the spices from the Snap. The bitters, I admit, were just a recent acquisition that I wanted to try, but I did feel the allspice played well with the Snap as well.
This is a cocktail that has some heft to it, but I did find it went down smoothly, so be careful. Thus, en garde!