Conference

 

Story

Since the 1930’s, creators of tiki cocktails have been blending different rums together to create novel flavor profiles.  Cocktail Club recipes often feature a “split base” in which multiple spirits make up the core of a drink.  But prior to 2008, split-base cocktails were quite rare in the modern cocktail scene.  To be fair, cocktails with multiple spirits existed back in the 1800s: the Saratoga (brandy + whiskey), our old friend the Vieux Carré (rye + cognac), and others.  But when the modern cocktail renaissance started in the early 2000’s, most places were following classic single-base templates.  Veteran bartender Brian Miller was working in NYC at Death & Co in 2008.  He drew on his extensive tiki cocktail experience to begin applying the tiki blending approach to non-tropical drinks.  Other bartenders were doing similar things, but many point to the Conference as a breakthrough in popularizing the approach.  It’s a strong but balanced Old Fashioned with an extra bit of complexity to keep it interesting.  The “bunny ears” garnish (both lemon and orange twists) is classic for this drink.  It’s an extra bit of flair to remind you that you’ve got a little bit of tiki history in your stirred, boozy cocktail.  Cheers!

Recipe

0.5 oz bourbon
0.5 oz calvados (apple brandy)
0.5 oz Rittenhouse 100 rye
0.5 oz cognac
1 tsp demerara syrup
2 dashes angostura bitters
1 dash Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters
Orange twist; lemon twist
-Stir ingredients with ice.  Strain into chilled rocks glass over ice. Express and garnish.