3 words that bring music to my ears…. We are talking serious cocktails here kiddies!!

For those of you who are not familiar, Mixology Monday is a monthly online cocktail party. The process is quite simple: each month, a host, working with the moderator, selects a theme for the upcoming event; past themes have included Rum, Winter Warmers, Fizz, and Aperitifs. The event is announced on various blogs, and on or before the event date (a Monday — hence the name), participating bloggers join the party by posting a drink recipe or other post related to the theme. Each participant notifies the host that they’ve joined in, and soon after the event, the host posts a roundup, listing each participant.

This will be the Citizens first post for a Mixology Monday event but definitely not our last!

With a theme of Brown, Bitter, and Stirred, I took off to the drawing board. I have a strong affinity for Rye Whiskey in cocktails and this was the perfect chance to use the beautiful brown spirit. Now for the Bitter? There are so many avenues you can go here, and I wanted to try and express them all. Picking up a bottle of Bonal Gentiane-Quina recently, I really wanted wanted to work it into the cocktail. It had a unique complexity that played really well the the Rye Whiskey. The drink felt a little thin though. Enter my old friend, Punt e Mes. Perfect for giving the drink a little more body with a touch of sweetness. Since this is a bitter drink I went ahead and added a dash each of both Angostura Bitters and Peychauds Bitters. I was a little nervous at this point that the drink may be too bitter but it really came together nicely. It was however lacking a little dimension. I decided to work in a little smoke by way of a Laphroig 10 year glass rinse. PERFECT!! A small spritz of orange oil over the top and the drink was done…. It was brown, it was definitely bitter, and it was stirred!!!!

“I’ve Seen Bitter Days”

1.5 oz Old Overholt Rye Whiskey
.5 oz. Bonal Gentiane-Quina
.5 oz. Punt e Mes
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 Dash Peychauds Bitters
Laphroig Rinse
Garnish: Orange Oil
Add all ingredients except Laphroig into mixing glass. Add ice, stir for 20-30 seconds and strain into Pre-chilled, Laphroig rinsed cocktail glass. Spritz with oil from orange peel and garnish with peel.
CHEERS!!!!