1 1/2 oz white tequila

3/4 oz fernet branca*

1/2 oz lime juice

1/2 oz blueberry-tarragon syrup

1/4 oz blended scotch (i used dewar’s in this case)

combine over ice and shake.

strain into a chilled martini shell.

no garnish.

*originally it was cynar, but we turned out to be out of it, so i used fernet instead, which was the runner-up during the development process

yesterday we had a bar meeting and were told by one of the chef/owners that she wanted us to do more interesting things, and to use the cool/strange/interesting ingredients the kitchen kicks out for cocktails.  we’ve been doing the blueberry-tarragon syrup with soda for a week or two now, so it’s around (to make, just make simple syrup and pour over fresh blueberries and tarragon and let steep), and i thought it’d combine nicely with tequila or cachaca (which we have, but only a fancy/expensive one, and with limited availability).  when i tasted that, i thought there was room for a little bit of a smoky finish (hence the scotch), and i needed something to bridge the gap.  i wanted it to be cynar, for the bitterness (campari didn’t work, oddly enough), but when i went to pour the first one after the server sample, it turned out we were out of cynar, so i used fernet instead, which gave it a nice airy note, but was still bitter enough to bridge the gap between the sour sweetness of the initial palate-wash and the smoky, earthy finish from the scotch.  i like this one, because at first it tastes a little foo-foo, but then there’s this lingering smoke/earth/woodiness on your tongue that makes you salivate for another sip, or some good food, which is what a dinner cocktail ought to do.  also, i like that i got tequila, scotch, and amaro to play together nicely.