Paradise in a Glass

A thousand apologies to all, it has been some time since the last whiskey post. Truth be told, I have not consumed all that much whiskey thus far in 2021, but fear not, while the whiskey consumption has been reduced, it has not been eradicated. There are two entries in the hopper, both centered around an offering from Glenfiddich that will be posted soon. In the meantime, since we are in the dog days of summer, here's a tropical concoction that I have had the great fortune to enjoy throughout the majority of my adult life, including, thanks to my family, often in the region from which it originates.

Hailing from Miss Emily's Blue Bee Bar in the settlement of New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas, the Goombay Smash has rightfully earned a spot in tropical cocktail lore and fame. I once heard a sentiment credited to Ernest Hemingway that those in colder climates drink to punish themselves, hence their drinks are whiskey, vermouth, and gin based, whereas those in warmer climates drink to pleasure themselves and as such their drinks are rum, juice, and fruit based. While I am not 100% sure that sentiment did indeed emanate from Mr. Hemingway, I am certain that from the first sip of a Goombay Smash, one truly does experience a complete and satisfying pleasure. 

One fun tidbit - New Plymouth was a settlement for those colonists in America that remained loyal to the Crown and wanted no part of that Revolution (i.e. Insurrection) of the late 1700s. The settlement of New Plymouth has some incredible history and is well worth a visit if you happen to be in the Abacos. 

Now on to the drink. While the official recipe is still a closely guarded family secret, below is what most accept as very close to the real deal. Coconut rum, 'dirty' rum (almost certainly an aged Jamaican rum), and apricot liqueur serve as the drink's enforcers. Pinneapple juice, orange juice, lime juice and a 'secret' ingredient which in Caribbean based concoctions almost always translates to Angostura bitters from Trinidad and Tobago serve as the drink's ambassadors. As always, the quality of the cocktail is proportional to the quality of the ingredients used in its composition, so try to use quality rums and fresh-squeezed juices where possible. In my neck of the woods, oranges and limes are easy to come by, but I opt for canned pineapple juice that is 100% pineapple juice and not from concentrate.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce coconut rum
• 1 ounce aged Jamaican rum (Appleton 8-year or 12-year works great here)
• 0.5 ounces apricot liqueur/brandy
• 1.5 ounces pineapple juice
• 1.0 ounce orange juice
• 0.5 - 0.75 ounces lime juice
• 2-4 dashes Angostura bitters (Note: I use a combination of Angostura and Bittermens Tiki bitters here)

Composition

Place all ingredients in a cocktail mixer, stir, and taste. Adjust to personal preferences - if too sweet, add more lime juice and/or bitters. If too bitter, add more orange/pineapple juices and/or coconut rum. Once satisfied, add ice to the shaker, plop the top on and shake well.

Strain into a tall glass filled with fresh ice and prepare yourself for a tropical departure from reality. Fair warning: like most tropical libations, the Goombay Smash is deceptively easy to consume and as such, there is a real risk of mass consumption occurring before one feels the effects of the drink's enforcers. Be careful my fellow adventurers! 

Cheers to all. See you soon with a trip to Speyside, where the latitudes are large and the hooch is less tropical, but no less enjoyable.

One Final Nod to Ireland for the Month

As March's conclusion nears, I wanted to share a concoction recipe that has pleasantly surprised my much-better-half and I this month. Published in a ABC Fine Wine & Spirits promotional email, the libation caught my eye because of its use of cucumber. Though I am not a huge gin or vodka guy, I do very much enjoy a cucumber gimlet and was intrigued to see if cucumber would also work well with Irish whiskey (spoiler alert - it does!).

A few notes from the trenches after making a fair amount of this cocktail: if your cocktail shaker can accommodate the volume, this recipe can easily be doubled which helps cut down on the muddling labor. The strainer found on a typical cocktail shaker is useless for straining the drink after shaking due to the cucumber pulp, so pop the top off and use a fine-mesh strainer instead. This drink as published uses three-quarters of an ounce of simple syrup which is over the edge of sweetness to my tastes. I've reduced to a half-ounce below, however your personal tart/sweet mileage may vary, adjust accordingly. The elderflower liqueur is essential here as it contributes a tremendous flavor to the finished drink.

Ingredients

1/2 inch chunk of cucumber, cut into smaller chunks

1/2 ounce simple syrup

3/4 ounce lemon juice

1/2 ounce St. Germain (elderflower liqueur)

2 ounces Irish Whiskey

Composition

In a cocktail shaker, drop the chunked-up cucumber and simple syrup. Grab a muddler and pound the cucumber into a mushy paste. Add all remaining ingredients, stir and taste. Adjust to your preferences - if too sweet, add more lemon juice, if too tart, add more syrup. Once satisfied, add ice to the shaker, plop the top on and shake mightily. Remove the top of the shaker and strain into your preferred glass using a fine-mesh strainer.

Cheers to March and hello April.

The Prestige - Redbreast 21-Year

Redbreast 21 Year
Classification: Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
Country: Ireland
Region: County Cork (Midleton: 51.913°N 8.170°W)
Mash Bill: 100% Barley (malted and un-malted barley)
Strength: 46.0% ABV (92.0° Proof)
Color: Unknown (rumored to be natural color)
Filtration: Unknown (rumored to be non-chill filtered)
Maturation: 21 years in unknown proportion of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks
Price: $269.99 ($299 regularly) (Total Wine)

tl;dr summary - a prestigious whiskey destined to be a special occasion sipper. A dazzling display of tropical fruit is without question the hallmark of this offering. An excellent whiskey, but not all is perfect in paradise. The alluring nose, exotic taste, and sufficient finish equate to an experience that when taken as a whole do not, for me, justify its lofty retail price.

Twenty one year old Redbreast was absolutely an aspirational bottle of whiskey for me. A very good piece of advice for whiskey enthusiasts that is sometimes forgotten is to figure out what type and style of whiskey you like before dropping the big bucks on specific bottles. It seems like common sense, but you’d be surprised at how many expensive bottles are purchased for no reason other than FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) or simply succumbing to powerful marketing and/or peer pressures. For me, my long-standing budgetary limit of $120/bottle, derived from the asking price of Highland Park’s 18-year offering, remained in place for well over a decade. Redbreast 21 was the first crack in my spending resolve.

Retailing for $299, but reduced to $269 courtesy of an in-store discount, it was at the time the most expensive bottle of whiskey I’d purchased. This was not an easy purchase for me to make. Indeed, I spent well over a year and half lusting after this bottle, proudly lingering in a locked display case, before committing to purchase. Leading up to the purchase was well over two years of consistent, dare I say dazzled enjoyment of Redbreast’s cask strength 12-year version. When one has such an enjoyable courtship, it is only natural to wonder what euphoria would emanate from a more serious commitment.

It is a funny thing having a spendy bottle of hooch on one’s shelf, at least it was for me. Deeming the moment not special enough, I procrastinated for months on opening my bottle of Redbreast 21. This is of course a fairly odd prospect - why procure a special bottle of whiskey only to have it sit on the shelf for posterity because no suitably proportional moment arises in which to indulge and enjoy. Eventually, I decided the night of my birthday was as good a time as any and so, three-ish months ago, I finally opened my bottle of Redbreast 21.

Tasting notes below collected over the course of four separate pours spaced out over the past three months.

Smell
Oak, red berry, raspberry, strawberry, vanilla, green grass, cream soda. With time, the bourbon influence is stronger than the sherry influence. The ethanol edge is a notch more pronounced than I’d prefer.

Taste
The taste begins with a rush of oak and spice followed by an absolute tidal wave of tropical fruits, specifically mango and papaya and then red grapes and ripe peaches. Towards the tail end of the sip, the mango and papaya remain, but the oak and spice return. The ethanol punch is strong, but never crosses into hot or prickly. The unmalted barley influence is less pronounced than in the 12-year. Be careful with added water, I found this whiskey will indeed take a small amount of water, but is easily washed out. For me, no more than half a teaspoon for a two ounce pour.

Finish
The mango and papaya continue from the taste, but linger in the backseat while the oak and spice are firmly in the driver’s seat. Eventually the oak and spice diminish leaving the tropical fruits and a pleasant tongue prickle from the ethanol. Gentle tannins. I’d classify the finish as medium in length, flirting with long, but never quite achieving the marathon distance I wish it would.

This is the rare instance when comparing two whiskeys side by side in a blind taste-test would not be all that helpful. The massive tropical fruit notes of the 21-year would instantly dissolve the uncertainty as to which was which. Because of this, comparing the 12-year to the 21-year is a bit misleading - these are two related, but vastly different whiskeys. Like comparing the Beatles to the Rolling Stones. Whereas the 21-year’s signature is the tropical fruit, the 12-year focuses on oak, spice, green grass, and stone fruits like plums and apricots. The 12-year to me is far more indicative of an Irish whiskey - the unmalted barley influence in the mash is much more pronounced to me in the 12-year than the 21-year. Further, the 12-year has a vibrancy, a brightness, and a depth of flavor that is every measure of the 21-year old, perhaps even greater, particularly in the finish, though that could be due to the 12-year’s higher bottling proof (cask strength version that is).

Recently, I learned in an interview with Redbreast Master Blender Dave McCabe that the folks at Midleton Distillery actually produce three variations of their single pot still distillate - ‘light’, ‘medium’, and ‘heavy’. Sadly, Mr. McCabe did not disclose much detail as to what differentiates each variation, but did say that while all versions of Redbreast contain the ‘light’ and ‘medium’ distillate, the 21-year consists of all three, and it’s the ‘heavy’ version that helps contribute the tropical fruit notes found in the 21-year.

Without question the mango and papaya I encountered in the 21-year was the most enjoyable aspect of the experience. On the whole though, I am left feeling a bit conflicted by Redbreast 21. This is indeed very good whiskey, unique whiskey, but I do not personally find the experience proportional to the asking price. For me, Redbreast 21’s biggest problem is that I can purchase three bottles of Redbreast 12-year Cask Strength for less cash than a single bottle of the 21. Delving into the metaphysical, I suspect, for me at least, the frugality of the 12-year also serves as subconscious permission to enjoy a pour of whiskey on a whim, devoid of pressure to apply pomp and circumstance. When pouring the heralded, and expensive 21-year, I felt an air of formality and seriousness; a sense that one cannot just casually pour and enjoy such a whiskey - there has to be a greater reason than ‘just because ’. Beyond the psychological hangup, I do keep returning to the same sentiment that I simply enjoy the 12-year a notch more than I enjoy the 21-year. We’ll see if that trend continues as I’m sure to keep that bottle of 21-year tucked away to be revisited from time to time.

Redbreast 15-year - An Unexpected Twist

Where does the time go, here we are in mid-March and this will be the first post of the year. Truth be told, I had intended, and still plan to post one final favorite pour of 2020 to sit alongside Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof, but my creative desire to do so was sapped back in January. For now, I have a lineup of seasonally appropriate posts that seem better suited to this time of year. Doubtlessly you are seeing plenty of Irish Whiskey advertisements right about now as we are in the week of Saint Patrick’s Day. It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of one particular Irish Whiskey - Redbreast’s 12-year Cask Strength, but rather than celebrate a favorite, I am going to lament a Redbreast that fell a bit short for me. 

Redbreast 15-year seemed like a no-brainer - three years older than my beloved 12-year, 46% ABV, and an enticing selection of maturation barrels. Compliments of several interviews with Midleton Distillery staff that I’ve read and listened to, I learned Redbreast 15-year, like it’s 12-year counterpart is matured in first-fill ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, but the 15-year also contains whiskey aged in refill bourbon and sherry casks. If you spend any amount of time reading reviews of Redbreast 15-year, you’ll quickly discover that it is wildly well regarded. Nary a bad review can be found in an ocean of praise which leads me to the plot-twist of this post - my experience has been pretty far from enjoyable.

Below are Redbreast’s official tasting notes for their 15-year bottling:

Nose

Full and rich with a complex yet balanced mix of berry fruits and aromatic oils.

Taste 

Fully round and mellow with the succulence of fleshy fruit combined with spices and toasted wood.

Finish

Long and sophisticated 

Upon opening my bottle for the first time, there was immediate trouble: wafting up from the glass was the unmistakable smell of match heads. Sulfur! There are a handful of sulfur variations one can experience. Anyone who grew up in Florida doubtlessly knows the rotten-egg version of sulfur courtesy of irrigation systems that use well water. There is also a vegetal brussels sprouts/cabbage variant of sulfur, but neither the egg nor cabbage version was present in the Redbreast. For me, the sulfur I was smelling was squarely of the match head kind and it was entirely off putting to me.

Being a freshly opened bottle, I desperately hoped leaving my pour open to the air for an extended period of time would help diffuse the unwanted sulfur influence, but alas no luck. Depressingly, not only did the sulfur influence carry over to the taste from the smell, but it was amplified significantly on the tongue. The sulfur dominated the tasting experience for me, but lurking in the darkest reaches of each sip were hallmark Redbreast attributes - fruit and oak. The problem was the dominance of the sulfur; in a totally unscientific ratio, the sulfur was 75% of the taste leaving the remaining 25% to the fruit and oak.

Adding water did help reduce the sulfur impression, but doing so frustratingly also reduced the vibrancy of the fruit notes. Further exasperating the situation, what normally would be welcomed, a pleasantly long finish, was anything but as the sulfur continued in the mouth long after the sip. Disgruntled, I decided on a drastic measure: transfer ~1/3 of the bottle’s contents to an empty bottle and leave the remaining 2/3’s of the bottle stored away for a few months in the hope that an extended slumber with air would help dissipate the sulfur note.

Revisiting the bottle 21 weeks after initially storing it, the sulfur note is diminished, but not eliminated. While still not overly enjoyable, I do find the whiskey palatable, its sulfur note approaching amicable levels. Recently, while researching Redbreast’s new Small Batch Cask Strength release, I came across a few posts in the whiskey-centric corners of Reddit and YouTube that mentioned some sulfur-influenced batches of Redbreast, particularly in their 14 to 15-year old stock that was bottled in 2019 and 2020. The sources went on to claim that the folks at the Midleton Distillery corrected the issue, though not before some sulfur-influenced batches were bottled and shipped. Full disclosure, these claims are not coming from official sources, so take this as nothing more than Internet scuttlebutt chatter. Speaking personally, the idea that my specific bottle of Redbreast 15-year emanated from an anomalous batch and is not indicative of the profile Redbreast intended is feasible to me. Combined with the ocean of praise I mentioned above - nearly a decade of reviews with none mentioning any sulfur influence, I am comfortable saying that my specific experience was indeed a one-off, an unfortunate mistake.

While it will probably be some time before I take the plunge on another Redbreast 15-year, I am happy to report that a recently purchased bottle of my personal favorite - Redbreast’s 12-year Cask Strength - is totally free of match head sulfur and just as good as I remember; that’s the version I still enthusiastically recommend without hesitation.

In sticking with the 'Redbreast in March' theme, another offering from Midleton is up next.

Memorable Pours of 2020 - Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof

Straight away, one assumption is very safe to make about this post - there will be no complaining about low bottling proof. Just as the name Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof  leaves one linguistically satiated, the bottling proof does the same in terms of ethanol punch. Only two other whiskeys in the stash compete with this Jack in the potency department, both bourbons - Jim Beam's Booker's and Heaven Hill's Elijah Craig Barrel Proof - each of which often topping 65%+ ABV. While both are delicious, this Jack is entirely unique to its Kentucky siblings and as such is frequently my pour of choice when I settle in after dinner most nights.

I first sampled Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof in month 10 of our whiskey group's year-long tasting extravaganza. I was an immediate fan, but fully admit that this whiskey, for me, is impossible to enjoy neat. I must add water, sometimes a lot of water. Elusively, that quantity of water is often different - some nights it is a tablespoon, other nights upwards of half an ounce, but when I find the 'perfect' dilution, whoa momma, does this whiskey come alive. This is potentially controversial, particularly in some bourbon-biased areas of the Internet, but when I find that dilution sweet-spot in a pour of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof, the experience not only rivals, but exceeds that of virtually all super-premium, nearly-impossible-to-find bourbons that are out there; to my tastes at least.

One downside to be aware of however, as the verbose name indicates, this is a single barrel product. A bottle you really enjoy may or may not be equaled by the next bottle you purchase (assuming it came from a different barrel of course). Thus far, I've enjoyed four bottles, each from a different barrel. While all four were fantastic, there was one that really stood out. Since I did not keep a sample of that star barrel, who's to say how trustworthy my nostalgia is. To combat nostalgia, beginning in 2019, if a single barrel product really curls my toes, I immediately transfer four ounces of it into a smaller bottle to keep archived away for future reference. Full disclosure - not all of those toe curling whiskeys remained so as I revisited them at later dates, almost certainly due to a disproportionate romanticization of them initially.

As for Jack's specifics, as I said in my initial impressions back in 2018, the barrel proof version is radically different than Old No. 7. This is a dense, mouth-filling whiskey. Caramel, charred oak and vanilla are certainly present, but so too is an amazing cooked corn, think corn pudding or creamed corn combined with the smell of sugar being torched atop a crème brûlée. For Jack purists out there, the hallmark smell and taste of banana is indeed there, but I'd say it takes a back seat to the corn, vanilla, and oak.

Throughout the bulk of 2020, my much better half and I typically spent late afternoons on weekends and holidays lounging in our home cocktail lounge (formerly known as a Florida room). Affectionately called the Snaggletooth Lounge (long story, perhaps another time), filled with Tiki and cocktail memorabilia, we'd sip away the final hours of the Sun's time with us for a given day. After a round (or two) of cocktails, I'd typically go grab a bottle of the good stuff, and pour an ounce to sit and contemplate life with. One such night, I poured a bit of the Jack and upon smelling the glass, my better half grew wildly enthusiastic. I took a sniff, and sure enough, she was right - there was a symphony wafting up from the glass. It smelled sweet, smokey, savory, complex, bold, but not obnoxious and certainly not harsh. She summarized it best - 'this smells like a world-class whiskey that is not here to waste anyone's time '. Oh how I agree.

Happy New Year!

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof
Classification: Tennessee Whiskey
Country: United States of America
Region: Tennessee (Lynchburg: 35.285N, -86.368W)
Mash Bill: 80% Corn, 8% Rye, 12% Malted Barley
Strength: Varies by barrel, ~60-68% ABV (120-136° Proof)
Color: Natural Color
Filtration: Non-Chill Filtered
Maturation: Unknown Age (thought to be 6-8 years) in 100% New Charred Oak
Price: $64.99 (Most Bottle Shops)

Memorable Pours of 2020 - Woodford Reserve

Well 2020 was certainly a year. I'll leave the superlative recaps of the year to other commentaries, but I do hope all have coped as well as can be expected in what was a remarkable year. As for me, while our extracurricular activities were greatly curbed, there was still a fair amount of hooch consumed in the household. Over the course of the following week or two, I'll post some quick blurbs on some of the pours that stuck out for me over the course of the year. 

I'll open with what some might consider an unlikely standout, but throughout the year, this seemingly 'ordinary' bourbon consistently reminded me that being rare and/or expensive guarantees hype, but not quality. If you were to scour many of the whiskey-centric corners of the Internet, you'd discover that Woodford Reserve is unlikely to garner any significant hype. Perhaps a victim of its early success being regarded as a 'boutique' bourbon or perhaps being widely available wherever spirits are sold, Woodford tends not to wake up the echoes of the whiskey enthusiast world. Owned and produced by Brown Forman, Woodford Reserve was first helmed by master distiller Lincoln Henderson who sought to create a bourbon that satisfied all tastes and had no emphasis in any one area. Woodford Reserve's website proudly shows a flavor wheel that highlights their bourbon touching every area of the wheel, with no single attribute dominating the experience.

It had been some time since I had a pour of Woodford, the bottle sitting in a distant, infrequently visited corner of the whiskey stash. But then the quarantine-centric days of the summer inspired a bout of cleaning and organizing which brought the bottle of Woodford out of hiding and into the glass. Sip after sip left me rather amazed at how tasty the bourbon was. Intrigued, I decided to taste Woodford alongside a handful of other favorite bourbons to determine if my enjoyment of Woodford was due to absence making the heart grow fonder or if Woodford really was bringing a gun to a knife fight. Time and again, I kept coming back to the Woodford - it really held its own against the competition for me. Side note: a silver lining to the quarantine was eliminating the need to drive anywhere which simultaneously opened up plenty of time to sample hooch.

Bottled at 45.2% ABV, Woodford is easily enjoyable neat, in fact, I don't even bother adding water. To me, Woodford sips perfectly just as it pours from the bottle. One secret to Woodford's success, to my palate at least, is just how well it tames the charred oak and wood astringency that is found in a lot of bourbons. The oak is really well controlled, which allows so many other flavors to emerge from the glass. All the classic bourbon hallmarks are there - brown sugar, caramel, vanilla. But there is so much more - oranges, cocoa powder, dried fruits (apple, raisins, apricots), and baking spices (clove and cinnamon).

Because nothing in life is perfect, Woodford does have a handful of shortcomings for me. Foremost, the finish is a tad too short. I would describe the finish as medium in length, it lingers for a bit, but oh how I would love it to linger longer. The second criticism is probably related to the first - the bottling strength. 45.2% ABV is good, but I'd personally prefer an even 50% bottling strength. While 45.2% ABV is perfect for sipping neat, the downside is there is not much room to play with when using in any application that will dilute the whiskey. A bit more proof would ensure robustness in cocktails and allow neat drinkers to adjust how they see fit. In recent years, Woodford has produced a 'batch proof' version of their bourbon bottled undiluted (typically in the 60 - 65% ABV range) which has earned heaps of praise on the Internet, but sadly, I've never sampled the batch proof personally. Perhaps one day...

Woodford Reserve

Classification: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Country: United States of America
Region: Kentucky (Versailles: 38.125°N -84.854°W)
Mash Bill: 72% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Strength: 45.2% ABV (90.4° Proof)
Color: Natural Color
Filtration: Non-chill Filtered
Maturation: Unknown age in 100% new charred oak
Price: $29.99 (pretty much everywhere spirits are sold)

A few final footnotes for Woodford - The Woodford Reserve Distillery uses only traditional copper pot stills rather than the more-common column stills used at most bourbon distilleries. The finished bourbon however is actually a combination of this pot-distilled whiskey and column-distilled whiskey from Brown Forman's Old Forester/Early Times distillery in Shively, Kentucky. If you ever happen to be remotely close to Versailles, Kentucky it is absolutely worth the time and effort to visit Woodford Reserve. They offer a number of different tours, each easily worth the price of admission, and the grounds are truly spectacular.

The Brooding Manhattan

Keeping up with the previous posts's theme, I return this holiday weekend with yet another concoction I first had at a Disney property. Located adjacent to Disney's Boardwalk Resort, the AbracadabraBar is a small space themed after a 1920s speakeasy, a favorite haunt of the magicians that work the boardwalk's various venues... or so the Disney story goes. While the theming story is a bit of Disney magic, the actual space is indeed well worth a visit - intricate and interesting decor in a fairly small space. The cocktail menu, in keeping with the theme, features many brown-liquor based cocktails - negronis, side cars, whiskey sours, and manhattans.

It was here at AbracadabraBar that I was introduced to a cocktail I'd never heard of - the black manhattan. After enjoying one (or three) on that trip, I returned home inspired to master the drink myself. 

Most, but not all, Manhattan recipes (black or not) call for rye, but I've found bourbon works to my tastes in this drink a tad better than rye. The next variable is the amaro - there is no standard amaro and in fact I am led to believe that the variance among amaros is quite high. Thus far I've used Montenegro Amaro with good results, but as soon as that bottle is finished, I'll be trying other amaros out of sheer curiosity.

Below I've listed two different proportions for a black manhattan that I came across on the Internet. The first is a 3:1 bourbon:amaro ratio, the second is a 2:1 ratio. Because I enjoy the herbal bitterness that the amaro brings to the drink, I tend to stick with the 2:1 version. If however that does not sound to your liking, give the 3:1 a whirl.

Ingredients

1.5 ounces (3:1 ratio) - 2 ounces (2:1 ratio) bourbon
0.5 ounces (3:1 ratio) - 1 ounces (2:1 ratio) amaro
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters

Cocktail Cherry Syrup as desired

Composition

Because I garnish this drink with Luxardo cherries, I typically prep the garnish first and then put a small amount (~1/2 teaspoon) of the cherry syrup in the bottom of the cocktail shaker. Add all ingredients to the shaker, stir and taste. Adjust to your preference in terms of sweetness, booze, bitters, etc. 

Once the drink tickles your fancy, add ice to the shaker and stir until well chilled. Strain into your preferred glass. Here I deviate from tradition and serve in a double old fashioned glass with a large chunk of ice. Garnish with cocktail cherries.

Cheers to the holiday weekend(s) conclusion to 2020 - a truly remarkable year...