Paul Spreitzer

Individual tastes are a funny thing. This is probably my favorite and most heavily used amaro. The blend of caramel and herbal is just right.
Although I'd put it in the same class as Montenegro, Meletti has a more robust flavor and is much more warm going down. (It's fantastic in a Drunken Helmsman.)

This is an unexpected find.
I wanted to use up some fresh pineapple juice, and I was in the mood for mezcal -- and now I can't get the Doors out of my head. The mezcal and Rhum Clement Blanc seemed like strange bedfellows, but the other ingredients work to bring these two together beautifully. The mezcal is present, but it does not overpower. The grassy agricole is perfect -- a molasses-based rum might have over-sweetened things. And the little plastic monkey...well, need I say more?

Is there a reason why you wouldn't want to do the dry shake first?

I'm thinking this may have been more refreshing on a warm afternoon, but I felt that the soda water made this one a bit too watery for me. I love the interplay of rye and rum (and rhum!), so that was enough to get me to try it again -- next time with 3/4 or 1 oz of soda water instead.