Hockey Night in Belgiumtown

When the cat's away, the mice will play.  Specifically, the mice will experiment with Malort cocktails. (To my knowledge, my wife has had one Malort drink -- her first -- and has declared if we could be rid of the stuff on her account, "we" would.  Fortunately, she's not the only one who knows where Binny's is.)  With apologies to the famous CBC show, I was inspired to title this 'blog post after the kid who is presently slapping the puck around on his own purpose-built rink in his parents' yard three houses down; this cocktail, however, has nothing whatsoever to do with the fastest game on ice.  No, it was actually inspired by a series of Malort concoctions presently being offered by the Heritage Tavern in Madison, where our dear friends Jo and Wyl took us last weekend for some excellent conversation accompanied by neo-vintage decor, friendly staff and some truly outstanding libations.  Since I'm home alone for the next few days, I decided to try my hand at developing my own recipe, and try out my new Boston shaker.

Unlike my other Malort cocktails which used it as the base liqueur, to mixed results, my intention here was to create a drink that utilized Malort in a new way -- to "spice" a drink rather than overpower it (as Malort is wont to do, of course).  I wanted to create a balanced, boozy cocktail using a healthy, but not heavy-handed, portion of the infamous bäsk brännvin so good the Swedes abandoned it forever. To wit, here are my results:

Hockey Night in Belgiumtown (Not the actual name)

3 oz. gin
1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
0.25 oz. Benedictine
0.25 oz. Malort
2 eyedroppers-ful Bitterman's Blackstrap bitters
All ingredients shaken over ice and then strained into a chilled coupe glass

Holy cow, this is a nice cocktail.  I used what is rapidly becoming my favorite gin, Tanqueray Rangpur, which has a subtle citrus character which was amplified by the use of lime juice (lime, being perhaps my favorite citrus fruit, and also the one I had available); Benedictine, which provided a touch of savory sweetness and a delectable, slippery mouthfeel; and Blackstrap bitters, which provide some sweet and spicy notes.  I couldn't even help myself but to slurp the first one down -- after a couple fits and starts with the new shaker, I think I got the hang of it -- and promptly made myself a second.  It's outstanding: it's balanced, but the Malort is clearly there, having a civilized discussion with the lime and the spice, all the while tempered by the ever-present cloying sweetness of Benedictine.  And better yet, the addition of Malort made the cocktail into an "outdoor" gin drink that actually stands up well against a cool-palate-destroying cigar in a way that I'd never really thought gin would be able to do on its own.  I feel like I've taken some kind of quantum leap into cocktail design.  More experimentation will be necessary.

(Notes:  I made another with Bolivar bitters.  This provided a very distinct floral character that was really neither entirely necessary nor welcome, but not unpleasant.  I will try others.  I think three eyedroppers-ful of Blackstrap might be a good amount to try next.  Minus Blackstrap, two shakes of Angostura might suffice to provide the needed complexity.)