The French Connection cocktail—a easy mixture of cognac and amaretto—is considered by a Tiki lens on this split-base riff from Nick Ruiz of Patent Pending, a tiny powerhouse of a cocktail den hidden away behind a espresso store in New York Metropolis’s Flatiron District.
In tropical cocktails just like the traditional Mai Tai almond-based orgeat is historically used to drag out the fruit and earthy qualities of cane spirits. For the almond-averse, Ruiz drew inspiration from the 1830’s cocktail Banana Bliss. Cognac shares the highlight with an aged rum—on this case an agricole distilled from contemporary pressed cane juice. Bonus: This recipe may be premixed, bottled and gifted, or saved within the freezer, able to pour over a rock.
Featured in “Split-Base Cocktails Take Your Favorite Bottles to the Next Level.”
The Cavendish Cocktail
Rhum agricole and Cognac get the Tiki therapy on this fragrant split-base drink.
Yield: makes 1 cocktail
Time:
5 minutes
Components
- 1 oz. Rhum Agricole Ambre
- 1 oz. Cognac or different aged brandy
- ¼ oz. banana liqueur
- ¼ oz. pimento liqueur
- 2 dashes fragrant bitters
- Vast strip of orange peel
Directions
- Fill a calming rocks glass with ice, then add the rhum, Cognac, banana and pimento liqueurs, and bitters. Stir till well-chilled, about 15 seconds, then garnish with an orange twist, and serve.
