Chris Brislawn

Oct. 19 is also the date Gen. Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington after the Battle of Yorktown, and the "Man O' War" sounded appropriate. Just 5 days ago we commemorated England's conquest by French-speaking Vikings with R. Elgar's "Hastings 66" and in keeping with his blend of English & French spirits I wanted to use English & American ones. Lacking English whiskey I used the Crown Royal I bought recently in support of our Northern neighbors and (still, hopefully) friends. Slainte!

Made this with a 50:50 mix of lemon and lime juices per Difford's comment below and agree it's probably better than 100% of either. The mix plays well with Fiorente Elderflower. Used Bombay Sapphire London Dry per the Fairmont recipe though Old Tom would work, too, if you like it sweeter than we do. My big change was splitting the Lillet Blanc 50:50 with Luxardo Bitter Bianco to add a little bitterness and complexity. A bright, lively, citrusy drink that's distinct from either a Last Word or a Corpse Reviver.

Ratios of gin:port range from 2:1 (Craddock) to 4:1 (Difford) so I split the difference and went with the 3:1 specified by Kappeler and Embury, omitting sugar syrup since I have Hayman's Old Tom. Difford says to use tawny, which I did (10-year-old Quinta Das Carvalhas), but the earlier sources just say "port" and I think it would be good with ruby, too. As for pouring the port *through* the chilled gin & bitters to settle in the bottom of the glass, this appears to be an acquired skill as I managed to get enough port all over the countertop to make a mess. A small measure with a pour spout would help. It does produce a pretty drink, however. An extremely effective use of just four ingredients including bitters and expressed orange zest; everything contributes.

I love Boulevardiers and variants, and I agree with T. Magnatum (I'm getting older too) that this needs more than 4 pitiful drops of chocolate bitters to differentiate it from a standard Boulevardier. And the choice of chocolate bitters is up to you: I used 2 *dashes* of Bittermen's Xocolatl Mole bitters and 1 dash of Angostura Cocoa bitters and think they move the BV in a different, and tasty, direction. Serve it up so you can taste and smell its evolution as it warms in the glass.