Ingredients:

1 1⁄2 fl oz Straight rye whiskey (Barrell batch #4 57.85% alc./vol.)

1 fl oz Japanese malt whisky (Hatozaki Umeshu cask 46% alc./vol.)

3⁄4 fl oz Fernet (R. Jelínek)

1⁄3 fl oz Demerara gum syrup (Liber & Co.)

3 dash Aromatic Bitters (TBT)

Stir all ingredients with ice. Strain into a chilled DOF glass over a large cube of block ice. Express orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

It’s that time of year when we reflect on the year past. Personally, that called for a nice stiff drink. I keep thinking these are the Kintsugi times, so I wanted something with a Japanese flair.

I deviated from the original recipe by substituting Fernet for Amaro Braulio, which I didn’t have. The R.Jelinek nicely fills the gap between an Amaro and a minty Fernet. I substitute it frequently for an Amaro that has a clove, bittersweet profile.

The Hatozaki has a sweet character from being finished in Umeshu (plum wine) casks. I upped the ratio a bit to break through against the strong rye character of the Barrell #4.

The result is a nice sipper for contemplation. The Demerara gum syrup gives it a nice soothing feeling befitting the concept.

This is nice. I used Rittenhouse Rye and Meikakuna Japanese blended whisky. I did cut back a bit on the syrup as I made my own Muscovado syrup and it was quite rich (2:1). I might try it again with a higher quality Japanese whisk-something with a little more character. A lovely template, though.

Do I have to use Japanese blended whiskey? I'm curious because I'm not sure what flavor I'm expecting from Japanese blended whiskey.