I can vouch for the Cynar variation, it complements the Rye well (with Templeton Rye at least.)

Combining this idea with the Sophisticated Dane below, I can verify that Cynar-Akvavit works very well too - the artichoke weirdness balancing the caraway eccentricity (I'm using Aalborg Akvavit); finished with a dash of Bitter Truth Orange bitters.

Also, Hi Melissa, fancy meeting you here! :D