New York bartending legend Phil Ward espouses what he calls the Mr. Potato Head approach to cocktail creation. “My theory is that every template of a good drink is a blueprint for other good drinks, so you just take it apart and put it back together.” Natasha David, whom we have met in this space before, adopted that approach while working with Ward. Her Bananarac cocktail is of course a modification of the New Orleans classic Sazerac. The Peychaud’s bitters is gone, replaced by the always amazing Giffard Banane du Bresil, which brings natural banana notes to the drink. Other Sazerac characteristics like the absinthe rinse and the absence of ice remain, but this variant is very much its own thing. I made a slight modification by swapping out Cognac for Armagnac. Both are brandies made from French grapes, but Armagnac incorporates multiple type of grapes and is only distilled once. As a result, it has a more rich and complex flavor than the smooth, refined cognac. I think it works really well in this fabulous drink.
Recipe
1 oz rye (Rittenhouse)
0.5 oz banana liqueur (Giffard Banane du Bresil)
0.5 tsp Demerara Gum syrup (simple syrup works in a pinch)
1 dash aromatic bitters (Angostura or Bitter Truth Aromatic bitters)
Absinthe rinse
-Rinse chilled old fashioned glass with absinthe and dump.
-Stir other ingredients over ice, strain into glass. Express lemon twist and discard.
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